Are you struggling with how to teach heat transfer in middle school science this year? Would you like to incorporate an engineering project into your MS-PS1-6 unit? Here is how I teach methods of heat transfer (convection, conduction, and radiation), uses of conductors and insulators, and endothermic vs. exothermic reactions.
How do you introduce heat transfer in middle school science?
Start with conductors and insulators, since students already have background knowledge from everyday objects. Then teach the three methods heat moves—convection, conduction, and radiation—asking students to explain each with evidence. Finish by demonstrating endothermic and exothermic reactions with a simple baking soda and vinegar demo.
First, I like to teach students about conductors and insulators. This is an easy entry point for this unit because students have some background knowledge even if they do not know those two vocabulary terms. I have students identify examples of places they see conductors (such as metal pans and glassware for cooking) and insulators (cardboard boxes from fast food restaurants and plastic water bottles). This is an excellent place to use a lab to have students determine which is a better insulator through experimentation (more on that below).
Next, I teach students the methods by which heat can move from one place to another. They see examples of convection (boiling water, air conditioning), conduction (metal pan on a stovetop or touching a cold glass), and radiation (feeling the heat coming off a light bulb without touching it or the Sun). I like to focus on having students not only identify the type of heat transfer from an example but also explain why using evidence.
Finally, we learn about what it means for a chemical reaction to be endothermic or exothermic. I have students examine chemical reactions with HEAT added to either the product or reactant side as a way to demonstrate this. A really easy reaction to demonstrate this effect is baking soda and vinegar. When they react, they absorb heat from the environment. As a result, the temperature decreases. To demonstrate this phenomenon, put a digital thermometer in a beaker with vinegar and then slowly pour in baking soda (don’t just dump in the baking soda or it may overflow). Students can see the temperature dropping quickly.
If you would like to use this unit, it is available for sale in my MS-PS1-6 heat transfer unit in my TpT store!
What labs reinforce heat transfer concepts?
Two easy inquiry labs work well: an insulators lab where students compare temperature change across Styrofoam, plastic, and glass cups over 20 minutes, and an endothermic reaction lab where adding baking soda to vinegar drops the temperature almost instantly. Both let students discover content rather than just confirm notes.
Using labs to reinforce or discover content is critical for teaching heat transfer in middle school school. Students learn content with better understanding and recall concepts more easily when I use inquiry in labs. This standard (MS-PS1-6) offers a chance for some fun experiments while teaching heat transfer in middle school science.
Insulators Lab: Students can explore the effectiveness of different materials as insulators. Simply put warm or cold water in a cup and measure the temperature of it over time. For example, have students compare the temperature change of a Styrofoam cup, plastic cup, and glass cup over about 20 minutes. I would suggest covering the top as well with a similar material such as plastic wrap.
Endothermic vs Exothermic Reactions Lab: Have students explore temperature change in an endothermic reaction. Place vinegar in a plastic cup and record the temperature with a digital thermometer. Then, slowly add baking soda. The temperature of the liquid will decrease nearly instantly.
What is the heat transfer engineering project?
As the unit's culmination, students design and build a cooler from a limited set of materials and must cool a container of sand using the baking soda and vinegar reaction. They plan where to place conductors and insulators, build and test their device, and then graph and analyze their results against classmates'.
I really like this project because it pulls together numerous chemistry concepts that are also part of my state’s standards. As the culmination of this unit, students build a cooler and must cool off a container of sand using a chemical reaction. Why sand? It cools off quickly so a noticeable change can be measured.
Part 1 – Design: Students build their cooler out of three of several materials (Styrofoam cups, plastic cups, paper cups, glass beakers, plastic bowls, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, and cardboard). They analyze if each material is a conductor or insulator. They decide how to most effectively design their device to cool off the sand using these materials by carefully choosing where conductors and insulators should be placed. They also evaluate what kind of reaction occurs between baking soda and vinegar.
Part 2 – Building and Testing: This part is pretty quick and easy. I give students the materials and they build their devices. Since building their coolers really only requires placing the materials in the correct spot, building only takes a few minutes. Part of why I like this project is because it requires a lot of planning and less time to implement the plan.
To save time, I measure out the correct amounts of sand, baking soda, and vinegar separately. I also am sure to warn them about adding the baking soda to the vinegar too quickly and creating a mess! When it’s time to start, students measure the starting temperature of their vinegar. Then, they add their baking soda (slowly!) and cover the devices. They place the thermometer through the plastic wrap or aluminum foil into the sand and record the temperature every two minutes for thirty minutes.
Part 3 – Analysis: After completing their test, students analyze the results of their devices. Graphing their data and comparing it with other students helps them see trends and how the materials they choose affect the effectiveness of their cooler. Finally, they reflect by answering some questions about the project and how it could be improved.
If you are interested in using this heat transfer unit in your middle school science class, check it out in my TpT store!
How do you review key heat transfer vocabulary?
This unit is vocabulary-heavy—conduction, convection, radiation, endothermic, exothermic, conductors, insulators. After inquiry labs build background knowledge, digital escape rooms make a low-prep review: no cutting, no locks, no hiding clues. Students just scan a QR code and work through real-world examples to find the password.
This unit utilizes a lot of vocabulary that students must learn to use correctly – conduction, convection, radiation, endothermic reaction, exothermic reaction, conductors, and insulators. I really like using an inquiry approach here because it gives students some background knowledge through exploration that may not otherwise have through direct instruction. This is best accomplished through labs.
Once the inquiry approach has been completed, I find students still need review to connect those concepts to other real-world examples. I like to use digital escape rooms for a few reasons.
First, they are easy to use in the classroom since they only require access to a device and no setup on my part. No cutting paper, configuring locks, or hiding clues! Simply give students the link (I prefer using a QR code that students scan from the board) and off they go.
Here is one I use to practice identifying examples of convection, conduction, and radiation. Students begin in a kitchen setting and click around to find examples of heat transfer. They identify which type of transfer is occurring and get a letter from each answer. After finding all the clues, they unscramble the letters to find the password.
I really enjoy teaching MS-PS1-6 because it lets me use so many different tools for engaging students. From engineering design to experimentation, students get to interact with the phenomena directly and make connections. Furthermore, the challenge of building a device that must accomplish a specific outcome requires students to think critically about how heat moves from one place to another. I think this standard is a great blend of many of the things I love about teaching middle school science.