MS-PS3-3: Designing a Device to Slow or Speed Up Thermal Energy Transfer
In plain English: MS-PS3-3 is the NGSS middle school performance expectation that asks students to use science ideas to design, build and test a device that either slows down or speeds up the transfer of thermal energy, such as an insulated box, a solar cooker or a foam cup. Students judge designs by temperature data, not by calculating energy. It is usually taught in grade 6, 7 or 8 physical science.
Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
Clarification Statement: Examples of devices could include an insulated box, a solar cooker, and a Styrofoam cup.
Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.
Next Generation Science Standards · Disciplinary Core Idea: Energy · Official standard
Students act as engineers. They design, build and test a device that either keeps thermal energy from moving (an ice cube keeper and a cup that keeps a drink warm) or helps it move faster (a solar cooker). Thermal energy is the energy of the moving particles that make up matter; a warmer object's particles move faster on average. Thermal energy always moves from a warmer place to a cooler one. Students use three ways it moves, conduction, convection and radiation, to explain every design choice, and they judge their devices with temperature and ice mass data. The lesson runs over three class periods: design, build and test.
The NGSS Clarification Statement says: "Examples of devices could include an insulated box, a solar cooker, and a Styrofoam cup." The Assessment Boundary says: "Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred." So students compare temperature changes and ice left over, and nobody calculates an amount of energy in joules or calories. All data on this page are invented for teaching. Students handle no open flames and no hot plates; the warmest water used is warm tap water, poured by the teacher.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Explain conduction, convection and radiation, and name the one that each part of a device slows down or speeds up
Design a device that minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer, using stated criteria and constraints and a labeled sketch
Build the device from classroom materials and run a fair test that changes only one thing at a time
Use temperature or ice mass data to compare designs, judge whether a design meets the criteria and propose an improvement
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Matter is made of particles too small to see 5-PS1-1
Energy can move from place to place as heat and light 4-PS3-2
Reading a thermometer in °C and finding a temperature change by subtraction
Defining criteria and constraints for a design problem MS-ETS1-1
Hold up two items: a foam takeout cup and a metal water bottle with a screw lid. Ask students to think about a time a drink got cold or warm too fast.
Warm-Up Prompt
"An ice cube sits on a plate in a warm room. List every way you think thermal energy could get into the ice. Then name one thing you could put around the ice to slow each one down."
Record ideas on the board in three unlabeled columns: touching (the plate, the air right next to the ice), moving air, and light from the window or lamps. Students name the columns at the end of Direct Instruction.
Direct Instruction20-25 minutes
Three ways thermal energy moves. Thermal energy moves from warmer matter to cooler matter until they reach the same temperature.
Conduction: transfer between materials that touch, as particles bump into their neighbors. Metals are conductors (they pass thermal energy quickly). Foam, cardboard, cloth and still air are insulators (they slow it down).
Convection: transfer by a moving liquid or gas, such as warm air rising out of an open cup. A lid or a closed bag stops it.
Radiation: transfer by light and infrared rays (invisible light we feel as warmth), such as sunlight. Dark surfaces absorb more of it; shiny surfaces reflect it.
Engineering words.Criteria are what the device must do (for example, keep at least 70% of the ice for 60 minutes). Constraints are the limits (materials, size, cost, time). A fair test changes only one thing, the design, and keeps everything else the same: starting temperature, amount of water or ice, place and time. Diagram 1 shows test data for three cups; Diagram 2 shows a solar cooker design.
Insulated box (minimize transfer into the ice)
Three 30 g ice cubes sit in a 22 °C room for 60 minutes: one on a plate with no box, one in a cardboard box stuffed with crumpled newspaper, and one in the same box filled with packing peanuts with the lid taped shut. Remaining ice: 9 g, 18 g and 24 g.
Result: Percent of ice left: 9 ÷ 30 = 30%, 18 ÷ 30 = 60%, 24 ÷ 30 = 80%. Only the peanut box meets a 70% criterion. The peanuts trap air (slowing conduction) and the taped lid stops moving air (convection).
Styrofoam cup (minimize transfer out of warm water)
The teacher pours 200 mL of warm tap water at 45.0 °C into a paper cup, a foam cup and a foam cup with a lid. After 20 minutes the readings are 30.0 °C, 35.5 °C and 39.5 °C (Diagram 1).
Result: Temperature drops: 15.0 °C, 9.5 °C and 5.5 °C. The foam cup with a lid lost the least: foam is an insulator, and the lid blocks convection and evaporation. The comparison uses temperature change, not an amount of energy.
Solar cooker (maximize transfer into water)
Three jars each hold 150 mL of water at 20 °C and sit in the same sunny spot for 30 minutes: a clear jar, a jar wrapped in black paper, and a black jar inside a box with foil reflectors and a clear plastic cover (Diagram 2). Final readings: 26 °C, 31 °C and 42 °C.
Result: Rises: 6 °C, 11 °C and 22 °C. The black paper absorbs more sunlight (radiation), the reflectors send extra sunlight onto the jar, and the cover traps warm air (stopping convection losses).
Choosing a material by a principle
A team must line a lunch bag that keeps a yogurt cup cold. They can use either a sheet of aluminum foil alone or a folded felt pad.
Result: Felt traps still air between its fibers, so it slows conduction better than a thin sheet of metal, which is a conductor.
Spotting an unfair test
A group says its new cup keeps water warmer. The new cup started at 46 °C and the old cup at 41 °C. After 15 minutes the new cup read 38 °C and the old cup 35 °C.
Result: The new cup dropped 8 °C and the old cup only 6 °C, so the new cup actually lost more. Because the starting temperatures differed, the final readings alone are misleading: retest both cups from the same start.
After each example, ask: "Which way of transfer does each part of the device slow down or speed up? What data would show it worked?" Have students now label the three warm-up columns as conduction, convection and radiation.
Guided Practice20 minutes
Design day. As a class, write the criteria and constraints for the ice cube keeper (Activity 1), then each group sketches two designs and picks one. Use this invented test of three insulating materials, run by a class last year, to guide the choice. Each 30 g ice cube sat in a plastic cup wrapped in one material for 60 minutes in a 22 °C room.
Guided practice data (invented): ice left after 60 minutes
Wrapping
Ice left (g)
Percent left
No wrapping
10
?
Two layers of felt
19
?
Loose cotton balls
22
?
Cotton balls inside a closed zip-top bag
25
?
Fill in the percent left for each wrapping (ice left ÷ 30 g × 100).
Which wrapping meets a criterion of keeping at least 70% of the ice?
The closed bag adds one thing to the cotton balls. Which way of transfer does it slow?
Write one sentence that uses the data and a principle to justify the material your group will use.
Expected reasoning: 33%, 63%, 73% and 83%, so the two cotton-ball wrappings meet the 70% criterion, and the closed bag stops air from moving through the cotton (convection). Check every sketch for labels that name the principle behind each part.
Independent Practice45-55 minutes
Build and test day. Groups build their ice cube keeper within the constraints (about 15 minutes), weigh the ice cube and start the 60-minute test in Activity 1, with a control cube on a plate. While the keepers sit, groups run the cup test in Activity 2. The 60-minute test ends after a 45-55 minute period does, so the teacher (or a student helper) takes out and weighs every cube, including the control, at the 60-minute mark and writes the masses on each group's data table.
At the start of the next period, each student uses those masses to write the result as a claim: "Our design kept ___% of the ice, which does or does not meet the criterion, because ___." Collect the data tables. Check that every group used the same ice cube mass, the same time and the same room, and that the claim names a principle (conduction, convection or radiation).
Closure45-55 minutes
Redesign day. Students first write their keeper claims from the masses the teacher recorded (5 minutes). Groups then build the solar cooker in Activity 3 on a sunny day, or share keeper results in a gallery walk if it is cloudy. Each group posts its keeper's result, names its weakest part and proposes one change.
Exit ticket: "Your solar cooker raised the water temperature by 12 °C. Name one change you would make to raise it more, the principle behind it, and how you would test the change fairly." (Sample answer: add a second reflector so more sunlight reaches the jar, which increases radiation onto it; run the old and new cookers side by side with the same water and start temperature.)
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give a picture card for each way of transfer (a hand on a metal rail for conduction, steam rising from a cup for convection, sun on a dark car seat for radiation) to keep on the desk while designing
Provide a design sketch template with three label boxes: "This part slows or speeds ___ because ___."
Pre-fill the data table with the times, so students only record readings and subtract
For Advanced Students
Ask students to graph temperature against time for their cup test and explain why the temperature drops fastest at the start
Have groups add a cost constraint (each material has a price in points) and choose the design with the best result per point
Ask students to predict how their ice cube keeper would do on a hot bus ride, and design a test that would check it safely
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Check that each design labels the principle behind every part, and that students explain insulators as slowing transfer, not as "adding cold." Look for fair tests (same starting temperature, same amount of water or ice, same time and place) and for conclusions that use temperature change or ice left, not only the final reading. Listen for students who say cold moves into the warm water: thermal energy moves from warmer to cooler.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Ice Cube Keeper Challenge
60 min (over two days)Groups of 3-4
Groups design, build and test an insulated box that keeps a 30 g ice cube from melting for 60 minutes. This device minimizes thermal energy transfer from the warm room into the ice.
Criteria and Constraints
Criterion: keep at least 70% of the ice (21 g or more) after 60 minutes.
Constraints: the keeper must fit in a 20 cm × 20 cm × 20 cm space, use only the class materials, and let the ice be taken out for weighing in under 30 seconds.
Procedure
Sketch two designs, label each part with the principle it uses, and choose one.
Build the keeper. Weigh the ice cube in a small cup on the kitchen scale (subtract the cup), place it in the keeper and start the timer.
After 60 minutes, take out the ice, pour off the meltwater and weigh what is left (the test outlasts a class period, so the teacher does this step and records the masses). Also weigh an ice cube left on a plate in the open for the same time as the control.
Safety: wipe up meltwater right away so no one slips.
Sample Data (invented)
Control on a plate: 30 g to 8 g. Team A (box with crumpled newspaper, lid open a crack): 30 g to 17 g. Team B (box with felt lining and cotton balls, lid taped): 30 g to 23 g. Team C (zip-top bag of packing peanuts inside a box, lid taped): 30 g to 26 g.
Discussion Questions
Which teams met the 70% criterion? Show the percent for each.
Team A left the lid open a crack. Which way of transfer did that let in?
Why do we test a control cube on a plate at the same time?
Modification for Distance Learning
Students build a keeper from household materials, use a kitchen scale or count the minutes until the cube is fully melted, and post photos and data to the class board.
2
Keep-It-Warm Cup Test
30 minGroups of 3
Groups improve a foam cup so that warm water stays warm longer, then test it against a plain foam cup. This device minimizes thermal energy transfer out of the water.
Procedure
Choose one change to test: a lid, a cardboard sleeve, a second cup around the first, or a felt wrap. Build it.
The teacher pours 200 mL of warm tap water (about 45 °C; the teacher checks it with a thermometer and adds cold water if it is warmer) into the improved cup and into a plain foam cup at the same time.
Read both thermometers every 5 minutes for 20 minutes and record the readings.
Safety: the teacher handles all pouring; students do not carry cups of water.
Sample Data (invented)
Plain foam cup: 44.5, 41.5, 39.0, 37.0, 35.0 °C at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes. Double cup (one foam cup inside another): 44.5, 42.5, 40.7, 39.0, 37.5 °C.
Discussion Questions
How many degrees did each cup drop in 20 minutes? How much better was the double cup?
In both cups, the drop in the first 5 minutes was the largest. Why does the water cool fastest at the start?
Which way of transfer does the second cup slow down, and what does the air gap between the cups do?
Modification for Distance Learning
Students run the test at home with mugs of warm tap water poured by an adult, or analyze the sample data and graph both cups on one set of axes.
3
Solar Cooker Build
45 minGroups of 3-4
Groups design and build a solar cooker that warms 150 mL of water as much as possible in 30 minutes of sunlight. This device maximizes thermal energy transfer into the water.
Criteria and Constraints
Criterion: raise the water temperature by at least 15 °C in 30 minutes.
Constraints: one cardboard box, one sheet of foil, one sheet of black paper, one sheet of plastic wrap, tape, and one small glass jar.
Procedure
Sketch the cooker and label how each part helps: reflectors, a dark jar, a clear cover, insulation under the box.
Fill the jar with 150 mL of room-temperature water and record the starting temperature. Set all cookers in the same sunny spot at the same time, with a plain clear jar as the control.
Read the temperature every 10 minutes for 30 minutes.
Safety: never look at the sun or at bright reflections from the foil. Wear hats and stay in the shade between readings. The teacher checks the jar temperature before anyone handles it.
Sample Data (invented)
Control (clear jar alone): 21 °C to 27 °C. Group 1 (black jar, no reflectors): 21 °C to 32 °C. Group 2 (black jar, two reflectors, no cover): 21 °C to 35 °C. Group 3 (black jar, two reflectors, clear cover): 21 °C to 39 °C.
Discussion Questions
Which groups met the 15 °C criterion?
Groups 2 and 3 differ in only one part. What did the cover add, and which way of transfer does it slow?
Is it fair to compare a cooker tested in the morning with one tested at noon? Why or why not?
Challenge Variation
Groups make one change to their cooker, predict the new temperature rise, and retest it side by side with the original on the same day.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: Cooling of Warm Water in Three Cup Designs
Invented test data, drawn to scale: 200 mL of warm tap water starting at 45.0 °C in a paper cup, a foam cup and a foam cup with a lid, read every 5 minutes. The flatter the line, the more slowly thermal energy left the water. Every line drops fastest at the start and none falls below room temperature (dashed red line).
Diagram 2: A Solar Cooker Design
A cross-section of a box solar cooker. Sunlight (arrows) reaches the black jar directly and after bouncing off the foil reflectors; each reflected ray is drawn with the angle it leaves the foil equal to the angle it arrives. The black jar absorbs the light, the clear cover keeps the warm air from escaping, and the newspaper layer around and under the box slows conduction out through its walls and bottom.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
MS-PS3-3 Homework: Designing and Testing Thermal Devices
Directions: Use the words conduction, convection and radiation in your explanations. Compare temperature changes or ice left over: do not calculate amounts of energy. All data are invented for practice.
Part 1: Design (Problems 1-2)
Design a lunch box liner that keeps a frozen juice box cold until lunch, 4 hours later. You may use any of: felt, newspaper, a zip-top bag, aluminum foil and tape. (a) Write one criterion and two constraints. (b) Sketch your design and label each part with the way of transfer it slows. (c) Explain why you put each material where you did.
Design a solar cooker to warm a mug of water on a sunny windowsill. (a) Sketch it with at least three features. (b) For each feature, say whether it increases the light reaching the water, absorbs more of it, or keeps thermal energy from leaving. (c) Name the control you would test it against.
Part 2: Test Data (Problems 3-4)
Three insulated boxes are tested with 40 g ice cubes for 90 minutes. Box P (foam board, no lid) leaves 18 g. Box Q (cardboard with cotton balls and a taped lid) leaves 30 g. Box R (cardboard with newspaper and a taped lid) leaves 26 g. (a) Find the percent of ice left in each box. (b) Which boxes meet a 65% criterion? (c) Box Q costs 6 points and Box R costs 3 points. With a 5-point constraint, which box would you choose, and why?
Two solar cooker versions are tested on the same afternoon with 150 mL of water. Version 1 starts at 19 °C and ends at 33 °C. Version 2 (Version 1 plus a clear plastic cover) starts at 22 °C and ends at 38 °C. (a) Find each temperature rise. (b) Which version did better, and by how many degrees? (c) Explain the result with one way of transfer.
Part 3: Improve the Test and the Device (Problems 5-6)
A student tests whether a cardboard sleeve keeps a drink warm. She puts 250 mL of warm water in the cup with the sleeve and 150 mL in the cup without it, and reads the sleeve cup after 10 minutes and the other cup after 20 minutes. (a) List every problem with this test. (b) Rewrite the test so it is fair.
A team's ice cube keeper kept 60% of its ice, but the criterion is 75%. Their box is cardboard lined with one layer of newspaper, and the lid does not close all the way. (a) Name the two weakest parts and the way of transfer each one lets through. (b) Propose two changes. (c) Describe how you would test whether the changes worked.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
Design and Principles
Labeled sketch; every part is linked to conduction, convection or radiation correctly
Sketch present, but some parts are unlabeled or linked to the wrong principle
Criteria and Constraints
States clear criteria and constraints and uses them to choose between designs
Names criteria or constraints but does not use them in the choice
Data and Fair Testing
Correct temperature changes and percents; identifies every unfair part of a test and fixes it
One calculation error, or finds only some of the test's problems
Improvement
Proposes changes tied to the weakest parts and a fair way to test them
Proposes a change without linking it to data or a test
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
All data are invented. Compare temperature changes or ice left over; no question asks you to calculate an amount of energy. Your score updates as you answer, and Reset quiz clears everything so you or your students can try again.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A metal spoon sits in a mug of warm cocoa, and its handle soon feels warm. Which way of thermal energy transfer warmed the handle?
Answer: C
The particles in the metal pass energy along to their neighbors, which is conduction. Choice A describes moving air or water, which does not travel up a spoon handle. Choice D is not a way of transfer at all: insulation slows transfer.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which material would best slow conduction in the walls of an ice cube keeper?
Answer: B
Bubble wrap holds pockets of still air, and still air is an insulator. Choices A, C and D are metals, which are conductors and pass thermal energy quickly.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Steam rises from an open bowl of warm soup. Putting a plate over the bowl keeps the soup warm longer. Which way of transfer does the plate mainly slow?
Answer: D
Warm air and steam rising from the soup carry thermal energy away by convection, and the plate blocks them. Choice A names transfer through the bowl, which the plate does not cover. Choice B is not a way of transfer: insulation slows transfer, it does not carry energy.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A camping shower is a plastic water bag left in the sun. Why is one side of the bag black?
Answer: A
Dark surfaces absorb more radiation, so more energy goes into the bag and the water warms faster. Choice D describes a shiny surface, the opposite of black. Choice B is false: plastic is an insulator, and its color does not make it a conductor.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A team writes: "Our keeper must keep at least 70% of the ice for an hour, and we can use only one box and two materials." Which part is a constraint?
Answer: D
Constraints are limits on the design, such as the materials allowed. Choice A is a criterion: what the device must do. Choice B is part of how the criterion is measured, and choice C is the device, not a limit on it.
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Cup X drops from 44 °C to 31 °C in 20 minutes. Cup Y drops from 44 °C to 36 °C in the same time, in the same room. Which statement is supported?
Answer: C
Cup X dropped 44 - 31 = 13 °C and Cup Y dropped 44 - 36 = 8 °C, so Cup Y lost less and is the better insulator. Choice A mixes up a bigger drop with better insulation. Choice D reads a higher final temperature as more loss, which is backward.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A group wants to test whether a felt wrap keeps a cup of warm water warmer. Which plan is a fair test?
Answer: A
A fair test changes only the wrap and keeps the water, the start time and the reading time the same. Choice B changes the day and the water. Choice C changes the amount of water, and choice D changes the time, so neither can show what the wrap did.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Three solar cookers start at 20 °C. After 30 minutes they read 29 °C, 37 °C and 33 °C. A criterion says the cooker must raise the water by at least 15 °C. Which cookers meet it?
Answer: B
The rises are 9 °C, 17 °C and 13 °C, so only the cooker at 37 °C rose by 15 °C or more. Choice C counts the 13 °C rise, which falls short. Choice A picks the smallest rise.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A keeper started with a 20 g ice cube and had 15 g left after 40 minutes. What percent of the ice was left?
Answer: D
15 ÷ 20 = 0.75, or 75%. Choice A reads the mass in grams as a percent. Choice B is the percent that melted (5 ÷ 20), not the percent left, and choice C is the mass that melted in grams.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Shiny foil is taped to the outside of a picnic cooler that sits in the sun. Which way of transfer does the foil mainly slow?
Answer: C
Shiny surfaces reflect sunlight, so less radiation reaches the cooler. Choice A is wrong because thin foil is a metal, a conductor, so it does little to slow conduction. Choice B would need a better seal around the lid.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Two cups are compared. Cup 1 starts at 45 °C and ends at 37 °C. Cup 2 starts at 40 °C and ends at 34 °C. A student says Cup 1 is better because it ended warmer. What is the best response?
Answer: B
Comparing final readings is misleading when the starting temperatures differ: Cup 1 dropped 45 - 37 = 8 °C and Cup 2 dropped 40 - 34 = 6 °C. The test should be rerun from the same start. Choices A and C use the readings without the change.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Why does a double cup (one foam cup inside another) keep water warm longer than one foam cup?
Answer: A
The second wall and the still air between the cups both slow conduction. Choice C would make the water cool faster, and choice D describes a conductor, the opposite of what the cups do.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Ice in a keeper melts because:
Answer: B
Thermal energy always moves from warmer matter to cooler matter, so it flows from the room into the ice. Choice A describes the transfer backward: "cold" is not a thing that moves. Choice C confuses the meltwater with the cause: the ice melts because energy flows into it, not because the materials absorb water.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A team's solar cooker raised the water 10 °C. They add a clear plastic cover and retest it the next day, when it is cloudy, and get 8 °C. What should they conclude?
Answer: C
The weather changed along with the cover, so the result cannot show what the cover did. They should test the old and new versions side by side on the same day. Choice A treats an unfair comparison as evidence.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Label the way of transfer (conduction, convection or radiation) that each feature slows or speeds up: (a) a foam pad under a sleeping bag on cold ground; (b) a strip of foam that seals the gap under a door and stops drafts; (c) a dark mat placed under a solar water bag.
(a) Conduction (the foam traps still air and slows transfer into the cold ground). (b) Convection (the seal stops moving air from carrying energy in or out). (c) Radiation (the dark mat absorbs more sunlight, which speeds the transfer into the water bag).
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
A foam cup of warm water reads 43 °C, 40 °C, 38 °C and 36.5 °C at 0, 5, 10 and 15 minutes. Find the drop in each 5-minute interval and describe the pattern.
The drops are 3 °C, 2 °C and 1.5 °C. The water cools fastest at the start and then more slowly, because thermal energy moves faster when the temperature difference between the water and the room is larger.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
An ice cube keeper test gives these results for 25 g ice cubes after 45 minutes: bare cube 9 g, Design 1 16 g, Design 2 21 g. Find the percent left for each, and say which design meets an 80% criterion.
Bare cube: 9 ÷ 25 = 36%. Design 1: 16 ÷ 25 = 64%. Design 2: 21 ÷ 25 = 84%. Only Design 2 meets the 80% criterion.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Design a device that keeps a hot baked potato warm for a 20-minute walk to a friend's house. Name two materials or features and the principle behind each.
Sample answer: wrap the potato in a towel (trapped air slows conduction) and put it in a closed lunch bag (stops moving air, slowing convection). A shiny outer layer could also reflect radiation. Any two features with a correct principle earn full credit.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
Explain why this test is not fair, and fix it: "We put Cooker A in full sun and Cooker B in partial shade, each with 150 mL of water at 20 °C, for 30 minutes."
The amount of sunlight differs, so a difference in results could come from the spot, not the design. Fix: put both cookers side by side in the same full-sun spot at the same time, keeping the water amount, start temperature and time the same.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
A group's foam cup with a lid dropped from 45 °C to 38 °C in 20 minutes, and they want a drop of 4 °C or less. Propose one improvement, explain the principle, and say how you would know it worked.
Sample answer: wrap the cup in a felt sleeve and stand it on a folded towel, so trapped air in the felt and towel slows conduction through the sides and bottom. Test the new cup and the old cup side by side with the same warm water; it worked if the new cup drops 4 °C or less in 20 minutes.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does MS-PS3-3 mean?
MS-PS3-3 asks middle school students to use science ideas to design, build and test a device that either slows down or speeds up thermal energy transfer. The code means Middle School, Physical Science, core idea 3 (Energy), performance expectation 3. It is an engineering standard: students write criteria and constraints, build and test, and improve their design.
What devices can students build for MS-PS3-3?
The Clarification Statement names an insulated box, a solar cooker and a Styrofoam cup. Other good choices are a lunch box liner, a drink sleeve or a cooler for a picnic. A device can minimize transfer (keep something hot or cold) or maximize it (warm something quickly with sunlight).
Do students calculate thermal energy in MS-PS3-3?
No. The Assessment Boundary says assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred. Students compare temperature changes, the percent of ice left, or the time until something melts. Formulas for thermal energy belong to high school (beyond this standard).
What science principles should students apply?
Thermal energy moves from warmer to cooler matter, by conduction (touching), convection (moving air or water) and radiation (light and infrared). Insulators such as foam, felt and still air slow conduction; lids and seals stop convection; dark surfaces absorb radiation and shiny ones reflect it. Each part of a design should match one of these ideas.
Is MS-PS3-3 safe to do with middle school students?
Yes, with simple rules. Use warm tap water poured by the teacher, never boiling water, and no open flames or hot plates. Solar cookers warm water only moderately; the teacher checks temperatures before students handle jars, and nobody looks at the sun or bright reflections. Wipe up meltwater right away.
What is the difference between criteria and constraints?
Criteria describe what a successful device must do, such as keep 70% of an ice cube for an hour. Constraints are the limits, such as size, materials, cost or time. Students use both to choose between designs, so a design that works well but breaks a constraint is not the best choice.
How do you make the test fair?
Change only the design, and keep everything else the same: the amount and starting temperature of the water or ice, the time, the place and the way of measuring. Test a control, such as a bare ice cube or a plain cup, at the same time. Compare temperature changes rather than final readings when starts differ.
What mistakes do students make with MS-PS3-3?
Many students say that insulators "keep the cold in" or that cold moves into things, when thermal energy moves from warmer to cooler. Others compare final temperatures without checking the starts, or choose foil as an insulator for the walls, though thin metal conducts well. Asking for the principle behind every part helps.
How long does an MS-PS3-3 design project take?
Plan for about three class periods: one to define the problem and design, one to build and test, and one to share results and improve. The ice cube test needs 60 minutes of waiting, longer than a 45-55 minute period: start it on build day, run the cup test while it sits, and have the teacher weigh the ice at the 60-minute mark so groups can analyze it the next day.
How does MS-PS3-3 connect to other standards?
It uses the engineering standards MS-ETS1-1 to MS-ETS1-4 (criteria, constraints, testing and improving) and pairs with MS-PS3-4, where students investigate how mass and material affect temperature change. In high school it leads to HS-PS3-3, building energy conversion devices, and HS-PS3-4, thermal energy transfer in a closed system.
07
Related Standards
6 standards
These standards connect to MS-PS3-3: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
4-PS3-2Prerequisite
Show that energy can move from place to place by sound, light, heat and electric currents
Lesson coming soon
MS-ETS1-1Prerequisite
Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem precisely
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