Teacher sheet · Ages 10–11 · about 45–50 minutes
Heat and temperature: how heat moves
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/heat/ages-10-11/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/heat/ages-10-11/print/
Learning aims
- Distinguish heat (energy moving) from temperature (what a thermometer measures).
- Describe conduction, convection and radiation with examples.
- Explain how insulators work, often by trapping air.
- Carry out a fair test with a control and a line graph.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: why does a metal bench feel colder than a wooden one on a cold day? |
| 10 min | Read the text; demonstrate convection with a drop of food colouring in warm water (optional). |
| 20 min | Insulation fair test in groups, with readings every 5 minutes. |
| 5 min | Play Conduction, convection or radiation? |
| 5 min | Quiz and compare class graphs. |
Materials for the experiment
- 4 identical jars or cups
- 4 thermometers (or one, read quickly in turn)
- Insulating materials: bubble wrap, cotton wool or a sock, kitchen foil, nothing
- Elastic bands
- A measuring jug
- Warm tap water (filled by the teacher)
- A timer
Safety: Warm tap water only: never hot or boiling water. The teacher pours. Glass thermometers break easily: lay them down carefully. Mop up spills.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Heat and temperature are the same thing. | Temperature is measured with a thermometer; heat is the energy that flows because of a temperature difference. |
| Insulators make heat or add warmth. | They only slow down heat transfer, in either direction. |
| Heat rises. | Warm air and warm water rise (convection), but heat itself can move in any direction, by conduction and radiation too. |
Worksheet answers
- Conduction: arrows from the burner through the pan base. Convection: circular arrows in the water. Radiation: arrows from the burner outwards into the air.
- Temperature is what a thermometer measures (how hot something is); heat is energy that moves from a hotter object to a colder one.
- Usually the bubble wrap or cotton wool jar: these trap air, which slows down the heat flow.
- Their feathers, fur and fat are insulators: feathers and fur trap air, which slows heat leaving the body.
Quiz answers
- At what temperature does water boil (at normal pressure)? 100 °C. Water boils at 100 °C.[1]
- Which way does heat flow? From hotter to colder. Heat flows from the hotter object to the colder one until they reach the same temperature.[2]
- The handle of a metal spoon in hot soup gets hot. This is… conduction. Heat travels through the metal by conduction.[3]
- Warm air rising and cool air moving in to replace it is… convection. Convection is heat transfer by a moving fluid.[3][2]
- How does the Sun's heat reach the Earth through empty space? By radiation. Radiation needs no material to travel through.[2]
- Which is the best thermal insulator? Polystyrene foam. Foam contains small trapped air bubbles; metals are good conductors.[5]
Going further
Repeat the test with two and then three layers of the best material. Does more thickness insulate better? Plot the temperature drop against the number of layers.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Physics, 11.1 Temperature and Thermal Energy (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [2] Physics, 11.2 Heat, Specific Heat, and Heat Transfer (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [3] The Transfer of Heat Energy (NOAA National Weather Service, JetStream): reliability High
- [4] Thermal conduction (Encyclopaedia Britannica): reliability High
- [5] Insulation (Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao, University of Waikato (New Zealand)): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/heat/sources/
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