Design: Warm It Up

Design a sun warmer with dark colors and a clear cover, and test it with data.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 63

Now the opposite problem: can we design something that warms up in the sun? Let's build a sun warmer, like a tiny solar oven.
Line a box with black paper, which takes in lots of sunlight. Cover it with clear plastic, which lets sunlight in and traps the warm air.
Shiny foil flaps around the box reflect extra sunlight into it. Then face it toward the sun!
Test each version with a thermometer. The box with black lining and a clear cover got the warmest.
Try it with a grown-up: build a sun warmer from a shoebox, black paper, plastic wrap, and foil, and melt chocolate on a cracker!

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Science:

S3P1.c — Use tools and every day materials to design and construct a device/structure that will increase/decrease the warming effects of sunlight on various materials. (Clarification statement: Conduction, convection, and radiation are taught in upper grades.)