Physics: Hot or Cold: Temperature and Materials
Exploring temperature, heat, and how materials feel
Physics: Hot or Cold: Temperature and Materials
Exploring temperature, heat, and how materials feel
Physics - Grade 2-3
- 1
Circle the object that is usually hotter: a bowl of soup or an ice cube. Explain your choice.
Think about which object you would touch carefully because it might burn you.
A bowl of soup is usually hotter than an ice cube because soup is often heated and an ice cube is frozen. - 2
A thermometer shows a higher number in the afternoon than in the morning. What does that tell you about the air?
It tells you that the air is warmer in the afternoon than it was in the morning. - 3
Mia touches a metal spoon and a wooden spoon that have been sitting in the same room. The metal spoon feels colder. Are they really different room temperatures? Explain.
Some materials move heat more easily than others.
They are probably the same room temperature because they were in the same room. The metal spoon feels colder because metal can move heat away from Mia's hand faster than wood. - 4
Put these in order from coldest to hottest: warm bath water, snow, boiling water.
The order from coldest to hottest is snow, warm bath water, and boiling water. - 5
Sam puts a cup of hot cocoa on the table. After one hour, the cocoa is no longer hot. What happened to its temperature?
Hot things often cool down when they sit in a cooler room.
The temperature of the cocoa went down. Heat moved from the hot cocoa to the cooler air around it. - 6
A jacket is made from thick, soft fabric. Why does wearing a jacket help you stay warm on a cold day?
A jacket helps you stay warm because it slows down heat moving from your body to the cold air. - 7
Which material would be best for holding a hot pan safely: a metal handle or a cloth oven mitt? Explain why.
Think about which material is used in a kitchen to protect hands.
A cloth oven mitt would be best because cloth does not let heat move through it as quickly as metal. It helps protect your hand from the hot pan. - 8
Nora leaves a glass of cold water on the counter. After a while, the water feels less cold. Did the water gain heat or lose heat?
The water gained heat from the warmer air around it, so it felt less cold. - 9
Look at a thermometer that has a red line near the bottom. Does this show a hot temperature or a cold temperature? Explain.
On many thermometers, higher means warmer and lower means colder.
A red line near the bottom shows a cold temperature because the liquid or line is low on the thermometer. - 10
Your class wants to keep lemonade cold during a picnic. Name one material or object they could use and explain how it helps.
Think about what people use to keep food and drinks cold outside.
They could use a cooler with ice. The cooler slows heat from getting in, and the ice helps keep the lemonade cold.