Take students inside the science of home energy sources as they learn about solar energy through research and collaboration.

GUIDING QUESTION
How do the characteristics of materials impact the temperature inside a space?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to:
• collect, organize, display, and analyze temperature data.
• investigate the effect of a covering on the solar heating of a model house.

OVERVIEW
The heating and cooling of our dwellings are necessary for comfort and survival. Before the
advent of independent sources of energy for such purposes (wood, natural gas, electricity),
humans depended on solar energy. In this lesson, students will investigate the absorption
and reflection of solar energy on the top surface of a simple model house by collecting
and analyzing actual temperature data. As an extension of the concepts, they will have the
opportunity to research related information found on the internet. Students and parents then
work together at home to further investigate and research the interaction of solar energy and
surfaces on heating and cooling of dwellings.

Includes follow-up family activity.

Grades 6 – 8