Heat, Temperature and Energy
Overview
This is a two week unit on heat and energy. For many students this will be their first exposure to
a quantitative study of heat. The focus is on a conceptual understanding of heat and equilibrium
as well as mastery of simple quantitative problems, including changes of state.
Grade 7
SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES
- STSE/Knowledge 109.04, 110.07, 111.05, 112.01, 112.09, 113.04, 113.10
- Initiating & Planning 208.04, 208.08,
- Performing & Recording 209..03
- Analyzing & Interpreting 210.02, 210.11, 210.12, 210.13
- Communication & Teamwork 308.01, 308.02, 308.03, 308.04, 308.05, 308.06, 308.07
Notes for teachers
The following lesson plan contains a brief synopsis of a 10 day unit on heat and temperature. Each day contains a list of key topics and some
basic information related to each topic. It is the teacher's responsibility to adjust each lesson plan to suit their student's
background and align the topic to the resources available to their students.
Primary Concepts
- Heat, energy, & temperature
- Conduction, radiation and convection
- Changes of phase(state), solids, liquids and gases
- Specific heat capacity
- The Law of Conservation of Energy (in a closed system)
- Entropy
- The importance of the Sun as an energy source for the Earth
- The importance of deep space as an energy "sink" for the Earth
Supplementary Concepts
A subtle, but vital, concept that is often overlooked when teaching introductory concepts of energy is
this: All dynamic systems, living and non-living, are able to function because energy flows through
them, not because energy simply flows into them.
Assumed Student Background
Students should already be familiar with the following terms and units
- energy, work (joules), Celsius temperature scale
- The principle of conservation of energy
- forces (newtons)
- basic integer operations with numbers
Keyword List
albedo Celsius conduction convection evaporation Kelvin Joules melting molecules radiation solidification specific heat sublimation vaporization
Overall Lesson Plan
- Day 1: Review temperature scales, Celsius & Kelvin. Calibration of thermometers. The transfer of heat energy.
- Day 2, 3, & 4: Concept of heat as a form of energy contained in a substance. Particle model of matter. Specific heat capacity.
- Day 5, 6 & 7: Changes of state. The concept of specific heat capacity. The concept of "latent" heat.
- Day 8: Simple class experiment investigating the concept of "specific heat capacity".
- Day 9: Climate, heat, temperature, thermal intertia and heat capcity.
- Day 10: The solar constant (approximately 1.37kW/m2 above the Earth's atmosphere). A general overview of the thermal properties of various features on the Earth's surface.
e.g. forest, open ocean, ploughed fields, various types of crop cover. Concept of climate and micro-climate.
 |
 |