Educator Guide: Heat and
Temperature
This document is a resource for teachers whose classes are participating in the Museum of Science’s Heat and Temperature Traveling Program. The information in this document may be used as a classroom resource and/or as background information for the teacher concerning the subjects of heat and temperature. Table of Contents:
Vocabulary List……………………………………………………………………………2
Further Background Reading…………………………………………………………...4
Suggested Classroom Materials………………………………………………..……...5
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Vocabulary List
This is a list of common terms used in thermodynamics that teachers may wish to be familiar with for the program. This list is also a suggestion of vocabulary for students participating in the program to learn, though prior study of these words is not required for student participation. Conduction – when heat energy is transferred from one object to another due to physical contact Convection – when heat energy is transferred by the mass motion of a fluid (a gas or a liquid). This can happen naturally, leading to warm attics and cold basements, or it can be forced, as in the case of a hair dryer. Cryogenic Liquid – a material that is a gas at room temperature, and only condenses to a liquid at an extremely low temperature. Some common examples or materials that behave this way are oxygen, nitrogen, and helium. The chart below shows their melting points (aka freezing points) and boiling points (aka condensation points). °F °C Melts
Boils
Melts
Boils Element Xenon ‐169° ‐162° ‐112° ‐108° Argon ‐310° ‐302° ‐190° ‐186° Nitrogen ‐346° ‐320° ‐210° ‐196° Oxygen ‐362° ‐297° ‐219° ‐183° Helium
‐454° ‐452° ‐270° ‐269° Cryogenics – the science of the ways materials behave at low temperatures Density – a measure of how compact an object is. It is the mass of an object divided by the volume it takes up.
Heat – a flow of energy between two objects that are at different temperatures. A warm object may give some of its thermal energy to a cooler object. That transfer of energy is heat.
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Kinetic Energy – the moving energy of an object
Liquid Nitrogen – a common cryogenic liquid made by lowering the temperature of nitrogen gas (a large component of the air we breathe) down to ‐196 degrees Celsius Radiation – when heat is transferred by light. The thermal energy of molecules and atoms is connected to light energy. Namely, thermal energy can turn into light energy, and light energy into thermal. The sun is so hot it gives off a vast amount of light energy. When we absorb that light energy, it can raise our temperature. Temperature – a measure of the average kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules of a substance. The higher temperature something is, the faster the molecules move. Thermal Energy – the moving energy (also known as kinetic energy) of molecules 3
Further Background Reading
This is a suggested reading list for teachers looking to improve their understanding of heat and temperature. Books
Basic Physics: A Self-Teaching Guide by Karl Kuhn. Wiley. 1996.
Instant Physics: From Aristotle to Einstein, and Beyond by Tony Rothman.
Ballantine Books. 1995.
Links
HyperPhysics Concepts, a good reference for concepts and definitions –
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/heatra.html
PBS NOVA: Absolute Zero Website –
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/zero/
Physics Notes on Conduction, Convection, and Radiation –
http://www.astarmathsandphysics.com/igcse_physics_notes/igcse_physics_note
s_conduction_convection_and_radiation.html
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Classroom Materials
Below are some suggestions for books, videos, and websites to help students increase their understanding of heat and temperature. Books
Science Projects about Temperature and Heat by Gardner, Robert, and Erik
Kerner. Enslow. 1994.
Physics for Every Kid by Janice VanCleave. New York: Wiley. 1991.
Links
Physics4Kids: Heat –
http://www.physics4kids.com/files/thermo_intro.html
Science Snacks: Exploratorium’s list of experiments –
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/iconheat.html
And online-interactive about the types of heat flow –
http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=SCE304
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