Thermal Expansion
Investigating how solids, liquids, and gases change size with temperature.
Key Questions
- Why are there gaps in bridge roadways and railroad tracks?
- How does a bimetallic strip act as a switch in a household thermostat?
- Why does ice float, and how does this unique property support life on Earth?
Common Core State Standards
Suggested Methodologies
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More in Thermodynamics: Heat and Matter
Temperature and Kinetic Theory
Relating the macroscopic measurement of temperature to the average kinetic energy of molecules.
3 methodologies
Heat and Internal Energy
Students differentiate between heat and internal energy and explore how energy is transferred at the molecular level.
3 methodologies
Specific Heat Capacity
Investigating why different materials require different amounts of energy to change temperature.
3 methodologies
Phase Changes and Latent Heat
Analyzing the energy required to change the state of matter without changing its temperature.
3 methodologies
Methods of Heat Transfer
Exploring conduction, convection, and radiation as the three ways energy moves.
3 methodologies