4th grade · Science · Unit 3 of 17
Thermal Energy
Heat on the move
What your child practices
Where heat comes from (the sun, fire, friction, food), how heat moves from warmer things to cooler things, and which materials are conductors or insulators, including reading simple experiment graphs.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 4.8(B) · conductors and insulators of thermal energy
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Thermal energy is heat. It moves from warmer things to cooler things.
- Conductors, like metal, let heat move easily. Insulators, like foam, wood and plastic, slow it down.
- Friction makes heat, like rubbing your hands together.
- Heat sources include the sun, fire and stoves.
Example: Which spoon in hot soup gets hot fastest: metal, wood or plastic? Metal is a conductor. Heat moves through metal fastest. Answer: metal
Thermal Energy in Texas
In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 3 of 17 in 4th grade Science, after Mixtures & Solutions and before Gravity & Magnets.
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: Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
An ice cube is dropped into a glass of warm juice. What happens?
🧊- heat moves from the juice to the ice, and the ice melts
- the ice gets bigger and bigger
- the ice makes the juice boil
heat moves from the juice to the ice, and the ice melts
Hint: Heat flows from warm to cool. The juice gives heat to the ice, so the ice melts and the juice cools.
Question 2
Which would keep a cold drink cold the longest in your lunch bag?
🥤- a thin metal can
- an insulated bottle
- a paper cup
an insulated bottle
Hint: Insulated bottles slow heat from moving in, so cold drinks stay cold.
Question 3
Conductor or insulator? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: 🥄 conductor (heat moves easily) · 🧤 insulator (slows heat)
- 🪵wooden block
- 🔩steel bolt
- 🍳frying pan
- 🪙coin
- 🥤foam cup
- 🧤oven mitt
🥄 conductor (heat moves easily): steel bolt, frying pan, coin · 🧤 insulator (slows heat): wooden block, foam cup, oven mitt
Hint: Conductors, like metals, let heat move through them easily. Insulators, like wool, wood and foam, slow heat down.
Question 4
Ice cubes were put on three plates. Which plate is the best conductor of heat?
Minutes for an ice cube to melt - plastic plate
- foam plate
- metal plate
metal plate
Hint: Heat moved from the room, through the plate, into the ice. The best conductor let heat through fastest, so its ice melted first.
Question 5
What is Earth's biggest source of heat and light?
- ☁️the clouds
- 🌙the moon
- ☀️the sun
☀️ the sun
Hint: The sun warms the land, water and air all over Earth.
Question 6
Which material is a good conductor of heat?
- 🥤foam
- 🧶wool
- 🔩metal
🔩 metal
Hint: Metals let heat move through them quickly. That's why pots and pans are made of metal.