Conduction of heat refers to the transfer of heat through a solid. …
Conduction of heat refers to the transfer of heat through a solid. Convection refers to the transfer of heat by a fluid material (such as air or water) moving from one place to another. Warm air is less dense than cold air, so it rises and cold air sinks. This is called natural convection. Air is constantly circulating indoors and outdoors, moving heat from one place to another. With this model you can compare how conduction and convection transfer heat.
The convection of heat in air happens naturally because warmer air is …
The convection of heat in air happens naturally because warmer air is less dense and rises, causing air circulation in many situations. But not always! Air can stratify, with warmer air up high and cooler air down low. With this model you can explore how convection works if the heat source is near the ceiling of a room. You can also compare it to conduction in the same setting.
Air circulates quickly and easily if there are temperature differences to drive …
Air circulates quickly and easily if there are temperature differences to drive its motion. This may be desirable in a room, but in insulated walls and ceilings air circulation is a problem, since it transfers heat. Explore the effect of multiple barriers on the amount of convection and apply this to how insulation should be designed.
Most buildings have leaky places where air can enter or escape -- …
Most buildings have leaky places where air can enter or escape -- around windows, ceiling openings like pipes, wires or chimneys, and construction joints such as where the wall meets the floor or the floor rests on the foundation. The size and location of these leaks strongly affects the heating and cooling load. Use this model to experiment with wall and roof leaks in a house with a heater where the air can circulate freely.
Learn a technique for converting decimal numbers into binary numbers using just …
Learn a technique for converting decimal numbers into binary numbers using just pen, paper, and calculations. Works best for small numbers, since bigger numbers require increasingly more calculations. Created by Pamela Fox.
Students learn about using renewable energy from the Sun for heating and …
Students learn about using renewable energy from the Sun for heating and cooking as they build and compare the performance of four solar cooker designs. They explore the concepts of insulation, reflection, absorption, conduction and convection.
Student groups are given a set of materials: cardboard, insulating materials, aluminum …
Student groups are given a set of materials: cardboard, insulating materials, aluminum foil and Plexiglas, and challenged to build solar ovens. The ovens must collect and store as much of the sun's energy as possible. Students experiment with heat transfer through conduction by how well the oven is insulated and radiation by how well it absorbs solar radiation. They test the effectiveness of their designs qualitatively by baking something and quantitatively by taking periodic temperature measurements and plotting temperature vs. time graphs. To conclude, students think like engineers and analyze the solar oven's strengths and weaknesses compared to conventional ovens.
Students are given the engineering challenge to design and build doghouses that …
Students are given the engineering challenge to design and build doghouses that shelter a (toy) puppy from the heat—and to create them within material, size and cost constraints. This requires them to apply what they know (or research) about light energy and how it does (or does not) travel through various materials, as well as how a material’s color affects its light absorption and reflection properties. They build their doghouse designs and test them by taking thermometer readings under hot lamps, and then think of ways to improve their designs. This is a great project for learning about light and heat: energy transfer, absorption, insulation and material properties, and easily scales up/down for size and materials.
Students learn the meaning of preservation and conservation and identify themselves and …
Students learn the meaning of preservation and conservation and identify themselves and others as preservationists or conservationists in relation to specific environmental issues. They use Venn diagrams to clarify the similarities and differences in viewpoints. They see how an environmental point-of-view affects the approach to an engineering problem.
Students learn and apply concepts in thermodynamics and energy—mainly convection, conduction, and …
Students learn and apply concepts in thermodynamics and energy—mainly convection, conduction, and radiation— to solve a challenge. This is accomplished by splitting students into teams and having them follow the engineering design process to design and build a small insulated box, with the goal of keeping an ice cube and a Popsicle from melting. Students are given a short traditional lecture to help familiarize them with the basic rules of thermodynamics and an introduction to materials science while they continue to monitor the ice within their team’s box.
This qualitative graphic illustrates the various factors that affect the amount of …
This qualitative graphic illustrates the various factors that affect the amount of solar radiation hitting or being absorbed by Earth's surface such as aerosols, clouds, and albedo.
A brief refresher on the Cartesian plane includes how points are written …
A brief refresher on the Cartesian plane includes how points are written in (x, y) format and oriented to the axes, and which directions are positive and negative. Then students learn about what it means for a relation to be a function and how to determine domain and range of a set of data points.
Copper Rock, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary …
Copper Rock, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.
This lesson introduces students to the idea of biomimicry or looking to …
This lesson introduces students to the idea of biomimicry or looking to nature for engineering ideas. Biomimicry involves solving human problems by mimicking natural solutions, and it works well because the solutions exist naturally. There are numerous examples of useful applications of biomimicry, and in this lesson we look at a few fun examples.
This teaching activity addresses environmental stresses on corals. Students assess coral bleaching …
This teaching activity addresses environmental stresses on corals. Students assess coral bleaching using water temperature data from the NOAA National Data Buoy Center. Students learn about the habitat of corals, the stresses on coral populations, and the impact of increased sea surface temperatures on coral reefs. In a discussion section, the connection between coral bleaching and global warming is drawn.
Make a sailboat out of corks. See if it floats. Activity from …
Make a sailboat out of corks. See if it floats. Activity from Weekly STEM in a Bag. Colorado Americorp agents in Araphahoe, Denver, Garfield, Larimer, and Weld Counties. Work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service under Americorps grant number 18AFHCO0010008. Opinions or points of view expressed in this lesson are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of or a position that is endorsed by the Corporation or the Americorps program. This resource is also available in Spanish in the linked file.
In this activity, students examine how to grow plants the most efficiently. …
In this activity, students examine how to grow plants the most efficiently. They imagine that they are designing a biofuels production facility and need to know how to efficiently grow plants to use in this facility. As a means of solving this design problem, they plan a scientific experiment in which they investigate how a given variable (of their choice) affects plant growth. They then make predictions about the outcomes and record their observations after two weeks regarding the condition of the plants' stem, leaves and roots. They use these observations to guide their solution to the engineering design problem. The biological processes of photosynthesis and transpiration are briefly explained to help students make informed decisions about planning and interpreting their investigation and its results.
Corona, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of …
Corona, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.
The arrow of time, from origin of the universe to the present …
The arrow of time, from origin of the universe to the present and beyond spans several major epochs throughout all of history. Cosmic evolution is the study of the many varied changes in the assembly and composition of energy, matter and life in the thinning and cooling of the universe.
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