Making Connections: Pressure, Temperature, & Volume
8th Grade Physical Science Module Overview
Topic: Pressure, Temperature, & Volume
Grade Level: 8
Course: Critical Thinking Science – Middle School
Time Allotted: 13 days
Prior Knowledge: Students should have basic algebra, graphing, and spreadsheet skills.
Overview: Students will first be introduced to temperature, exploring the concept and building their own thermometer. Students will then be introduced to pressure through activities, demonstrations, and an experiment comparing pressure and temperature. They will construct and use their own barometer. Next, students will be introduced to the concept of volume and the relationship between pressure, altitude, temperature and volume, describing the relationship using an equation. Finally, in the culminating activity, students will design a travel itinerary for a visiting alien with a flexible body. The students will calculate the alien’s volume at different locations on Earth, taking into account pressure, temperature and volume effects, including Charles’s law and Boyle’s law.
Vocabulary
Barometer: An instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure
Conversion: Moving between different units of measurement for the same quantity
Manometer: Instruments that use liquids to measure gas pressures that are close to atmospheric pressure
Pressure: The amount of force acting on a unit area
Volume: How much three-dimensional space a substance occupies. For containers, it is the amount of fluid they could hold.
Materials
• All students should have their own science notebooks for ALL activities
8th Grade “PVT” Module Overview Page 2
DAY 1-2
Computer
Alcohol-based thermometer that has both a Fahrenheit and Celsius scale
Tap water
Rubbing alcohol
Clear, narrow-necked plastic bottle
Food coloring
Clear plastic drinking straw
Modeling clay
Styrofoam cups
Hot water
Ice
Salt
DAY 3-5
20 oz, preferably long-necked, soda bottle per group
1 inch square newspaper wadded up into a
ball per group
Three drinking straws per group
DAY 6-7
Two Celsius and two Fahrenheit thermometers (0.1 degree increments preferred)
Two clear, plastic, 20-ounce bottles of carbonated soft drink at room temperature
Two 2-hole rubber stoppers (the right size to fit the opening of the soft drink bottle used in this study)
One Temperature and Pressure Data Sheet for each student
Spreadsheet to graph the data
Thin-walled plastic bag
Wire to make a wire hoop
Different sized balloons of different colors
DAY 8
Computer
25 mL graduated cylinder
Metal cube that would fit in the cylinder
Plastic Dice
Rock
Marble
Water
DAY 9
Computers
Table of temperature, pressure, altitude and volume worksheet
DAY 10-11
Computers
DAY 12-14
Computer
Blank postcards (6 per group)
Markers, crayons
8th Grade “PVT” Module Overview Page 2
Science Standards
Big Idea 1: The Practice of Science
Big Idea 2: The Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge
Big Idea 3: The Role of Theories, Laws, Hypotheses, and Models
Big Idea 4: Science and Society
Big Idea 8: Properties of Matter
SC.8.P.8.1 Explore the scientific theory of atoms (also known as atomic theory) by using models to explain the motion of particles in solids, liquids, and gases.
Math Standards
Big Idea 1: proportionality (grade 7)
Develop an understanding of and apply proportionality, including similarity.
MA.7.A.1.4 Graph proportional relationships and identify the unit rate as the slope of the related linear function.
MA.7.A.1.5 Distinguish direct variation from other relationships, including inverse variation.
MA.7.A.1.6 Apply proportionality to measurement in multiple contexts, including scale drawings and constant speed.
Big Idea 1: linear equations (grade 8)
Analyze and represent linear functions, and solve linear equations and systems of linear equations.
MA.8.A.1.1 Create and interpret tables, graphs, and models to represent, analyze, and solve problems related to linear equations, including analysis of domain, range, and the difference between discrete and continuous data.
MA.8.A.1.2 Interpret the slope and the x- and y-intercepts when graphing a linear equation for a real-world problem.
MA.8.A.1.3 Use tables, graphs, and models to represent, analyze, and solve real-world problems related to systems of linear equations.
MA.8.A.1.4 Identify the solution to a system of linear equations using graphs.
MA.8.A.1.5 Translate among verbal, tabular, graphical, and algebraic representations of linear functions.
MA.8.A.1.6 Compare the graphs of linear and non-linear functions for real-world situations.
Supporting Idea 4: Algebra
MA.8.A.4.1 Solve literal equations for a specified variable.
MA.8.A.4.2 Solve and graph one- and two-step inequalities in one variable.
Supporting Idea 5: Geometry and Measurement
MA.8.G.5.1 Compare, contrast, and convert units of measure between different measurement systems (US customary or metric (SI)) and dimensions including temperature, area, volume, and derived units to solve problems.
Supporting Idea 6: Number and Operations
MA.8.A.6.4 Perform operations on real numbers (including integer exponents, radicals, percents, scientific notation, absolute value, rational numbers, and irrational numbers) using multi-step and real world problems.
References
AltitudeData Table.pdf
http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=7223
AtomosphericPressure.pdf
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/air_pressure/
Atmosphere Simulator Activity (need to Download Java for this to work)
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/atmosi.html
Barometer1.pdf
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/air_pressure/barometer.html
BarometerBasicsCh5.pdf, from Meteorology Guide.pdf
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/home
Boyle’s & Charles’s law Gas Lab Activities (student labs & teacher lesson plans)
http://sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/javalabs/java12/gaslaws/index.htm
Common Units of Force and Pressure.pdf
http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=7223
Gas Law Rubric.pdf
http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=7223
GasLessonPlan.pdf
http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=7223
How Does the Thermometer Work.pdf
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/how_it_works/thermometer.html
Making a Thermometer.pdf
http://www.hobbyscience.com/thermometer.html
Making a Thermometer2.pdf http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/theengineeringplace/educators/lessons/thermometer.php
Measuring Temperature.pdf
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/light_lessons/thermal/measure.html
Measuring Volume Activity
http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=gch302
Ride a Balloon to 10Km
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/air_pressure/balloon.html
Scale Conversion.pdf
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/maps/ctof.rxml
Scale Conversion2.pdf
http://www.csgnetwork.com/tempconv.html
T_P_A_VDataSheet.pdf
Teacher created
Temperature.pdf (Activity 1:What is Temperature & 2:How to Read a Thermometer)
http://caps.ou.edu/CAPS/teachsun.html
Temperature Calculator: C to F
http://www.calculateme.com/cTemperature/CelsiusToFahrenheit.htm
Temperature conversion equations: formula calculator
http://www.ajdesigner.com/phptemperature/temperature_equation_convert_c_k.php
Temperature game Activity
http://funphysics.jpl.nasa.gov/adventures/temperature-game.html
TemperaturePressure.pdf
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/temperatureandpressure/
TemperaturePressureWKsheet.pdf
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/worksheets/temperatureandpressure/worksheet1.html
Temperature Scales.pdf
http://cryo.gsfc.nasa.gov/introduction/temp_scales.html
Temperature Scales Animation
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/bec/temperature.html
Temperature scale conversion webpage
http://cryo.gsfc.nasa.gov/introduction/Temp_Calc.html
There’s Air in There.pdf
Volumelab.pdf
http://sciencespot.net/Media/volumelab.pdf
8th Grade “PVT” Module Overview Page 2