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8th grade · Science · Unit 10 of 10

Thermal Energy & Insulation

Heat flow, temperature and keeping things warm or cold.

What your child practices

Practices how thermal energy moves from warmer to cooler objects, how mass and material affect temperature change, and how to design a device that slows heat transfer.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 8P.1.2.1.4; 8P.3.2.2.3 · how thermal energy transfer changes temperature, and designing to slow it

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Thermal energy always moves from warmer objects to cooler ones.
  2. Conductors, like copper, move heat quickly; insulators, like foam, slow it down.
  3. More mass takes more energy to change temperature.

Example: How does a thermos keep soup hot? Heat flows from hot soup to cooler air. Its walls slow that flow. Answer: it reduces heat transfer

Thermal Energy & Insulation in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 10 of 10 in 8th grade Science, after Chemical Reactions.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A thermos keeps soup hot by…

    • adding heat
    • making soup
    • cooling the soup
    • reducing heat transfer

  2. Question 2

    Which is a good insulator?

    • Aluminum
    • Iron
    • Copper
    • Foam

  3. Question 3

    Thermal energy always flows from…

    • nowhere
    • warmer objects to cooler objects
    • cooler to warmer
    • up to down only

  4. Question 4

    A metal spoon feels colder than a wooden spoon at the same temperature because metal…

    • is actually colder
    • is wet
    • conducts heat away from your hand faster
    • makes cold

  5. Question 5

    Which needs more energy to heat by 10 °C?

    • 1 g of water
    • 10 g of water
    • 1 kg of water
    • 100 g of water

  6. Question 6

    Ice in a drink melts because…

    • the cup is magnetic
    • thermal energy moves from the drink into the ice
    • cold moves from ice into the drink
    • the ice makes heat

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