Unit Overview

Students learn heat transfers through conduction, convection, and radiation understanding energy flow from hot to cold. Through solving temperature sensation mysteries or conducting heat transfer experiments with different materials, testing insulation properties comparing how quickly ice melts in various materials, and engineering thermal solutions like coolers, solar ovens, or insulated containers, students discover thermal energy as total kinetic energy of particles in matter.

  • Lesson 1
    Lesson 1: Solve: Our Life in Thermal Imaging + Winter Glove Mystery

    Solve: Our Life in Thermal Imaging + Winter Glove Mystery

    Willy's new infomercial promises his tin foil gloves will keep hands toasty warm in freezing weather—but customers discover he's full of hot air. Students follow Mosa as she investigates why the Willy Warm Gloves fail, testing different materials to discover that some conduct heat away from hands while others insulate and trap warmth. By the end, they can explain which materials make the best insulators and why.

  • Lesson 2
    Lesson 2: Make: Lab Stations: Experience Thermal Energy Transfer

    Make: Lab Stations: Experience Thermal Energy Transfer

    Put Willy Warm's gloves on trial. Students design and conduct two investigations testing his claims: (1) Are tin foil gloves really the best insulators? Students test aluminum foil against bubble wrap, felt, foam, cotton, and cardboard, measuring temperature changes over time. (2) Does mass affect how quickly things cool down? They use different amounts of water and track thermal energy transfer. Then they report findings to the Better Business Bureau with poster presentations and data proving Willy's claims are false.

  • Lesson 3
    Lesson 3: Engineer: Apply your Knowledge to Engineer Your Own Insulator and Conductor

    Engineer: Apply your Knowledge to Engineer Your Own Insulator and Conductor

    Design an ice cube protector that keeps ice frozen longest under a heat lamp. Students research insulation, sketch designs, select materials (egg cartons, bubble wrap, foam, felt, milk cartons, aluminum foil), build prototypes, test them with thermometers under warming lamps, and iterate based on results. The winning design maximizes insulation and minimizes thermal energy transfer—proving students understand conduction, materials science, and the engineering design process.

  • Next Generation Science Standards
    MS-PS3-3
    Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of devices could include an insulated box, a solar cooker, and a Styrofoam cup.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.]
    MS-PS3-4
    Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample. [Clarification Statement: Examples of experiments could include comparing final water temperatures after different masses of ice melted in the same volume of water with the same initial temperature, the temperature change of samples of different materials with the same mass as they cool or heat in the environment, or the same material with different masses when a specific amount of energy is added.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.]
    MS-PS3-5
    Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object. [Clarification Statement: Examples of empirical evidence used in arguments could include an inventory or other representation of the energy before and after the transfer in the form of temperature changes or motion of object.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculations of energy.]
  • Inquiry Scale
    • Each lesson in the unit has an Inquiry Scale that provides directions on how to implement the lesson at the level that works best for you and your students.
    • “Level 1” is the most teacher-driven, and recommended for students in 4th-5th grades. “Level 4” is the most student-driven, and recommended for students in 7th-8th grades.
    • For differentiation within the same grade or class, use different inquiry levels for different groups of students who may require additional support or an extra challenge.
  • Common Misconceptions
    • Learners’ first inclination is the opposite of reality: They will think that when they open the fridge, cold air escapes or that when their hands get cold, it is cold moving towards their hands. This is best helped with a thorough explanation of particle motion, building off the particle motion unit.
    • Learners may need some scaffolding to help them understand why hot water rises and cold air sinks in the “Make” lab. Ask them to visualize the molecules and consider the density of the molecules at different temperatures.
  • Vocabulary
      • Particle
      • Vibrate
      • Hot
      • Cold
      • Dense
      • Conductor
      • Insulator
  • Content Expert
    • Hans C. von Baeyer
      Chancellor Professor of Physics, Emeritus College of William and Mary
  • Leveled Reading

    * To give our users the most comprehensive science resource, Mosa Mack is piloting a partnership with RocketLit, a provider of leveled science articles.

    • Light That Heats

      This article talks about how light is different than most kinds of energy. Light can move through space as radiation and we can even feel one part of it as infrared heat!

    • Feel the Burn

      This article gives an introduction to fuel and the heat that is released when it's consumed. We can feel this heat energy leaving the things that once contained them when we heat up while exercising or set wood on fire.

    • Heat in Motion

      In this article students read about how convection moves matter by changing the density of a fluid.

    • Heat That Shakes

      In this article students will read about the way heat travels through a conductor. They learn about the collisions that happen between molecules and how these spread in a conductor and how they are stopped more quickly in an insulator.

    • How Hot?

      In this article students will read about temperature and the ways that it can be measured. The article explains the concept of average kinetic energy and the differences between alcohol and mercury thermometers.

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