Learning Goals
Learning Goals:
- Students will cover/manipulate milk jugs to achieve the most solar energy absorption.
- Students will calculate the joules of energy absorbed by the solar heated water.
- Students will measure and graph the temperature changes of their solar milk jugs.
- Students will gain an understanding of the amount of energy in sunlight.
Materials List
Handouts
Classroom Supplies
- Thermometer (recommended: electronic probe thermometer)
- Black spray paint
- Masking tape
- Aluminum foil
- Miscellaneous colored paper (needs to include: black, blue, green, yellow, and white)
- Measuring pitcher (1 liter)
- Graph paper
- Milk jugs (1 gallon)
Important Links
Next Generation Science Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
- MS-PS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
- MS-PS3-4. Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.
- MS-PS3-5. Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
- HS-PS3-3. Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.