The Anchoring Phenomenon
Students noticed that a drink in one type of cup warmed faster than in another.
What is the anchoring phenomenon of Unit 6.2? (Thermal Energy)
A set of parts that interact and can be studied apart from its surroundings.
What is a system?
Students noticed that this part of the cup might help keep a drink cooler.
What is the lid?
When sunlight hits the cup and the drink warms, this type of energy transfer occurs.
What is radiation?
Students record what they notice and wonder to begin learning.
What is making observations?
The difference in how the drinks warmed led students to wonder what parts of the cup caused the difference.
What are features of the cup system?
A cup with a lid, where no liquid or air escapes, is an example of this type of system.
What is a closed system?
Thicker cup walls may do this to energy transfer.
What is slow it down?
When warm air touches the cooler cup surface, energy moves through this process.
What is conduction?
Drawing arrows to show energy moving into or out of a cup system
What is modeling energy transfer?
This is the question students work to answer throughout the unit: “Why does one cup keep a drink colder for longer?
What is the driving question?
A cup without a lid that allows evaporation and condensation exchange.
What is an open system?
The material a cup is made of (foam, metal, plastic) affects this property.
What is thermal conductivity?
The movement of warm air around the cup that spreads heat is called this.
What is convection?
Comparing temperature data between cups helps students practice this.
What is analyzing data?
Students observed condensation forming on the outside of one cup but not the other.
What is evidence that energy and matter can move between a system and its surroundings?
This term describes the movement of energy from one place or object to another.
What is energy transfer?
A “double-wall” design reduces this type of energy transfer.
What is conduction?
The phase change that occurs when water vapor in the air touches a cold surface and becomes liquid.
What is condensation?
When students share evidence to support their claims about the cup system.
What is constructing explanations?
Students identified this as the first step in investigating a phenomenon.
What is asking questions and defining the system?
When students draw arrows to show where energy moves, they are making one of these.
What is a system model?
The design challenge asks students to create a cup that performs this function better.
What is keeping a drink cold (or hot) longer?
The process that removes energy from the drink as liquid water becomes vapor
What is evaporation?
The scientific skill used when students use evidence to decide which design works best.
What is argumentation from evidence?