Thermodynamics is the study of heat, "thermo," and work, "dynamics." We will be learning about energy transfer during chemical and physical changes, and how we can predict what kind of changes will occur. Concepts covered in this tutorial include the laws of thermodynamics, internal energy, heat, work, PV diagrams, enthalpy, Hess's law, entropy, and Gibbs free energy.

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This is a classroom lab investigation where students use the story of the three bears to discover inadequacies in the story and discover how to make them correct. Convection, conduction and radiation are involved.

This lab introduces or reinforces the concept of specific heat and the transfer of heat amongst substances.

This is a resource on solar energy, photovoltaic energy, solar thermal heat, solar thermal power plants and other forms of energy.

In this article, teachers find two unit plans (grades K-2 and 3-5) that use resources featured in the science and literacy articles in the magazine. The unit plans are modeled after the five key steps in the learning cycle: engage, explore, explain, expand, and assess, or evaluate. The plans are aligned with the science content standards of the National Science Education Standards and the English language arts standards of the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association. The plans appear in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle.

A transcript, from a syndicated radio broadcast, that discusses the life and scientific accomplishments of Count Rumford. An anecdotal account of Rumford's contribution to our understanding of heat. Contains a good deal of biographical information.

In this podcast, learn about student misconceptions about heat and activities that target them.

Students learn about the definition of heat as a form of energy and how it exists in everyday life. They learn about the three types of heat transfer conduction, convection and radiation as well as the connection between heat and insulation. Their learning is aided by teacher-led class demonstrations on thermal energy and conduction. A PowerPoint® presentation and quiz are provided. This prepares students for the associated activity in which they experiment with and measure what they learned in the lesson by designing and testing insulated bottles.

That heat flows from hot to cold is an unavoidable truth of life. People have put a lot of effort into stopping this natural physical behavior, however all they have been able to do is slow the process. Student teams investigate the properties of insulators in their attempts to keep cups of water from freezing, and once frozen, to keep them from melting.

Students learn the importance of heat transfer and heat conductance. Using hot plates, student groups measure the temperature change of a liquid over a set time period and use the gathered data to calculate the heat transfer that occurs. Then, as if they were engineers, students pool their results to discuss and determine the best fluid to use in a car radiator.

With the help of simple, teacher-led demonstration activities, students learn the basic physics of heat transfer by means of conduction, convection, and radiation. They also learn about examples of heating and cooling devices, from stove tops to car radiators, that they encounter everyday in their homes, schools, and modes of transportation. Since in our everyday lives there are many times that we want to prevent heat transfer, students also consider ways that conduction, convection, and radiation can be reduced or prevented from occurring.

This activity is a classroom lab making coolers to investigate which type of material is the best insulator.