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Science Teacher Training in an Information Society
Start Teaching about energy

 USIE

Workshop 1

Introduction
Section A
Section B
Activity B1
Activity B2
Activity B3
Activity B4
Activity B5
Activity B6
Activity B7
Activity B8
Section C
Section D
Section E
Section F
Section G

StartContents

Section B  Learning about the innovation

Activity B5  Insulation (cont.)
Page 8 of 8
 1    2    3    4 
 5    6    7    8 

Examples of pupils’ discussion

The following examples are of 12-13 year-old pupils discussing the matches that they make to the abstract pictures while doing the activity described on pages 6 to 8.

Hot chocolate:

"The hot chocolate is hotter than the room temperature ... and when the hot chocolate is left in the room, 'cos the room is colder the energy goes out of it and the hot chocolate starts to get cold slowly."

Frozen food:

"Because the frozen food left on the table and the food is colder than the room and the room temperature melts the frozen food ... the energy is going into the food and makes it warmer."

Frozen food:

"The food is more colder so the room temperature will go into the food and the newspaper is not that powerful so the room temperature will slowly go into the newspaper wrapping the food."

Hot chocolate:

"The hot chocolate is hotter than the room temperature so this (the central region in the representation) is darker (i.e. hotter with energy more concentrated) and when the hot chocolate is left in the room, because the room is colder the energy goes out of it (the chocolate) and the hot chocolate starts to get colder slowly.  This one in here (in the vacuum flask) - the hot chocolate is still hotter than the room so it's darker but it stays the same, as it's in the vacuum flask so no heat will come out and no heat will come in."

Cold lemonade:

One choice of picture:
"It's colder on the inside, and then the energy from the heat on the outside is going in making it warmer, and when it's in the vacuum flask the coldness just escapes making it warmer."
A different choice of picture: 
"Mine's the same really but the cold doesn't escape - the insulation makes the lemonade warmer."
"That's what I meant - the insulation makes it warmer."
"No but that means if the insulation made it warmer the cold wouldn't go out but the heat would come in - so the heat goes in not comes out."
 
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