Year 7 - Science
Changing temperature
Heating and cooling
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explains energy transfer between objects due to temperature differences, through conduction or radiation, the role of insulators, and thermal equilibrium. It covers particle arrangements and motions in solids, liquids, and gases and Brownian motion.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe what happens to the particles that make up a solid or liquid when the temperature changes.
Key Notes
- If left for long enough, all objects in a room will reach the same temperature as the room.
- Heating a solid makes its particles vibrate more quickly.
- Heating a liquid makes its particles move around more quickly.
- Heating a solid or liquid causes the separation of its particles to increase.
- Heating a solid or liquid causes it to expand.
Vocabulary To Learn
- expand: to increase in volume
- contract: to decrease in volume
- particle: the smallest part of a substance
- vibrate: to repeatedly and regularly move back–and–forth
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils often think that the temperature of larger ice cubes is colder than smaller ones because they take longer to melt.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
If left for long enough, all objects in a room will reach the same temperature as the room. Heating a solid makes its particles vibrate more quickly.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'expand'
to increase in volume. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pupils often think that the temperature of larger ice cubes is colder than smaller ones because they take longer to melt. Correction: Emphasise that both a small and large ice cube are at the same temperature when they are in the same freezer.
More Lessons In This Unit
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