What happens when hot meets cold? Just ask the fourth graders. In exploring thermal energy, the students conducted a simple experiment called hot meets cold. In this experiment, the students observed two jars, one with hot water and one with cold water. They placed them into a container of water, poked a hole in each jar and waited to see what would happen.
Many of the students explained to me that they saw the hot water (red water) move upward and the cold water (blue water) move to the bottom. One students explained that the blue water is going down because it is denser or heavier than the hot water, which is lighter. Another student compared it to being in the ocean. He explained that when hanging out in the water, he sometimes feel the cold water on the bottom and the warmer water at the top. Then another student realized that this experiment was like a thermometer. When the liquid in the thermometer gets hot it expands up and when cold it contracts and goes down.
What do you think?
