Provided by: Paleontological Research Institution |Published on: April 27, 2021
Videos Grades 9-12
Synopsis
This video by the Paleontological Research Institution describes thermal expansion, how it can be measured experimentally, and how the equation can be used to answer important questions.
The video details how thermal expansion causes significant sea level rise with increasing temperatures.
This is a great video of a thermal expansion experiment and the speaker walks students through the equation at a good pace.
The graphs about sea level rise are impactful.
Prerequisites
You may want to teach your students how to navigate between metric and imperial units.
If you decide to replicate this experiment in your lab you will need the appropriate materials ready beforehand.
It may benefit students to understand climate change and why thermal expansion is an important concept for the future.
Differentiation & Implementation
Advanced students could experiment with varying degrees of diluted sea water to see if the melting of the ice caps will increase or decrease the rate of thermal expansion in the ocean.
If you decide to replicate the experiment shown in this video, students could work in pairs or groups.
Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) is a national leader in Earth systems science education. They strive to help make sense of the present and potential future climate change, while also increasing understanding of global change in Earth’s past. Their programs focus on systems thinking, understanding scale and learning in your own backyard.
Related Teaching Resources
All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.