CONTENT OBJECTIVE: 6C4.00 To understand the scientific meaning of heat
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVE: The learner will:
4.01 define heat.
OUTLINE OF CONTENT:
I. Definition
II. Activities
TN COMPONENT OF SCIENCE: Habits of Mind
TN GOAL:
To enable students to demonstrate ways of thinking and acting inherent on the practice of science; and to exhibit an awareness of the historical and cultural contributions to the enterprise of science.
TN THEME:
3.1 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE - The knowledge and processes of science have evolved over time as an approximation of truth within cultural contexts.
TN STANDARD(S): The learner will understand that:
3.1c The desire to understand the natural environment and to predict the course of natural events is universal.
BENCHMARK: People have developed theories to explain events.
CLASSROOM CONNECTORS
TIME:
30 minutes
MATERIALS:
Pieces of sheet metal and coat hanger wire, beakers, food coloring, droppers, candles or other source of heat
SET:
Have you ever held your hands over a log fire to warm them? (pause) What changes did you experience after several minutes of holding your hands over the fire? (response) Today we are going to learn that heat is present in all matter. We will also learn the scientific meaning of heat.
INSTRUCTION:
Heat is the energy of moving molecules. All molecules moving in varying degrees. The molecules in matter slow down as the state of matter goes from a gas, to a liquid, and then to a solid. An example of the variation of heat energy in different matter is a wood burning stove versus a gas heater. A room with gas heat will warm faster than wood heat because the molecules in a gas are moving faster and possess more heat energy.
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION:
[The following activities are suggested:
1. Have the students bend a piece of sheet metal and feel the increase in temperature at the bend caused by increased molecular motion.
MONITOR:
Why do you feel an increase in temperature at the bend? (The molecules are increasing in motion and thus in heat.)
2. Repeat the above experiment using wire from a coat hanger.
MONITOR:
Do you feel heat? Why?
3. Place equal amounts of food coloring, drop by drop, into two beakers of cold water. Don't stir the water after adding the food coloring. Heat one of the beakers. Compare the results.]
CLOSURE:
Today, we have learned that heat is the energy of moving molecules. On a sheet of paper write your reason for the sheet metal and wire becoming warm after being bent back and forth. (pause) Draw a diagram of what happened to the food coloring in the two beakers of water during our experiment. (pause, then summarize)
Why would it be more feasible to use gas rather than wood if you had a short period of time to warm a room?
SUPERVISED OR INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:
1. Define heat.
2. Compare the movement of molecules in a gas to a solid.
3. What causes the increase in heat where the wire hanger is bent?
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time this file has been accessed since 02/25/98.
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