Hot Coffee Experiment
Materials:
 Hot coffee
 Drinking glass
 Metal thermos
 Styrofoam cup
1. Fill each "cup" with the hot coffee.
2. Feel the outside of each container with your hand.
3. What do your fingers tell you (sense of touch)? Which was hottest? Coldest? (Or
which couldn't you touch for long?)
Guide students in a discussion that heat travels better through some materials than others
such as the thermos. Describe that the thermos that is made of metal is a good conductor.
What materials in the experiment were bad conductors? Ask what the students noticed
about the materials used.
Allow students to gather materials from the classroom and explore to find other
conductors.