OpenSciEd Unit 6.2 · Lesson 11 · 11.A
Construct an explanation about why food coloring move…
From Teacher Edition
Facilitation guidance from the lesson plan — what to notice in student thinking and how to respond while teaching.
Building towards
11.A Construct an explanation about why food coloring moves more in hot water than in cold water using the idea that at the particle scale, particles in liquids at warmer temperatures have more kinetic energy than particles in liquids at cooler temperatures.
What to do
If students struggle to connect these ideas, visit the following simulations to help students trace atoms:
Molecular view of a liquid
http://bit.ly/molecular-view-liquid
Molecular view of a gas
http://bit.ly/molecular-view-gas
Mark two atoms and then press “Play”. Allow students to watch the simulation as a way of helping them explain how the food coloring (and the perfume sprayed into the air) can spread throughout the sample of matter.
If students use ideas about the speed of particle movement accurately but do not use the term kinetic energy, they have mastered the conceptual ideas. Continue to reinforce that kinetic energy is the scientific term for particle movement and give students practice using this new term in subsequent investigations and discussions.
If students use the vocabulary but it’s unclear whether they know what it means, press them to elaborate on how kinetic energy connects to particle movement.