Lesson: Heat Retention and Absorption

What
This lesson will be based on the concepts of heat absorption and retention and how
different materials absorb and retain heat differently from one another. The experiment will
make use of ceramic, plastic and glass cups filled with boiling water to demonstrate the
concept.

Learning intentions
- Understand that heat is absorbed and retained by materials
- Understand that different materials absorb and retain heat in different ways
- Understand the process of scientific experimentation and the steps involved throughout

How
- Begin the lesson by introducing the concept to the students, question them about what
heat is and whether or not they believe heat can be transferred to something
- Following the explanation and questioning begin the explanation of the experiment,
introduce the three different cups being used (plastic, ceramic and glass) and get students to
hypothesise on what cup they believe will lose heat the fastest
- Following hypothesising begin the experiment by filling the cups with boiling water and
taking an initial temperature with a thermometer
- Ensure that you record the initial temperature of each cup on the results table on the
board
- After every minute take another temperature recording of the water within each cup so as
to obtain an even spread of results
- After 5 minutes of temperature recording, end the experiment before discussing the results
with the students
- Get the students to compare their hypothesis with the results obtained, getting them to
explain to another student why their hypothesis may or may not differ to the results and
why that is
- Following this student discussion, choose a number of students to explain to the class why
their hypothesis may or may not have differed from the results and why
- Discuss with students if there could have been any variables to the experiment which may
have affected the results, getting them to think of one and explain how they could change
the experiment next time to make it fairer and more accurate
Following this discussion end the lesson

Victorian Curriculum Links

- Heat can be produced in many ways and can move from one object to another; a change in
the temperature of an object is related to the gain or loss of heat by the object (VCSSU063)
- With guidance, identify questions in familiar contexts that can be investigated scientifically
and predict what might happen based on prior knowledge (VCSIS065)
- Use a range of methods including tables and column graphs to represent data and to
identify patterns and trends (VCSIS069)
- Compare results with predictions, suggesting possible reasons for findings (VCSIS070)
- Reflect on an investigation, including whether a test was fair or not (VCSIS071)