The Effect of Heat on Kinetic Energy

Students used corn syrup to support a concept they have been learning about in science.  The concept was that if heat is added to molecules, then the molecules will have more kinetic energy.  This is the reason why substances can change from a solid to a liquid and from a liquid to a gas.

Two test tubes were filled with corn syrup of different temperatures.  The cold syrup was 10ºC and the warmer syrup was 30ºC.   A marble was dropped into each test tube and students timed how many seconds it took the marble to fall to the bottom of the tube.  The marble fell an average of 3 times faster in the syrup that was 30ºC after multiple trials.

The results verified the results that students obtained when they used an online computer model that simulated the concept.