Heating Butter & Rice Krispie Treats: Phase Changes & Thermal Energy Transfer
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This is a required assessment for the Science & Cooking for Educators Program.
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Overview
time:
5
-
9
class periods
standards:
MS-PS1-1, MS-PS1-3, MS-PS1-4, MS-PS3-4
science concepts:
states of matter, phase changes, chemical changes, heat and energy
Summary
Explore phase changes and thermal energy transfer by heating butter and making Rice Krispies treats.
This lesson was recently updated.
Update Date:
Late Oct 2025
Summary of Updates
SMALL UPDATES IN LATE OCTOBER 2025
● A number of small updates were made to provide additional scaffolding and supports for students, more small opportunities to apply concepts to new applications to both review and assess understanding, and additional notes in lesson plan on what to look for in models and discussions (see details)
UPDATES IN SEPTEMBER 2025
● NEW- Lab added to Lesson 1.1
● NEW- Lesson 1.2
● NEW- Lesson 1.3
● NEW- Lesson 1.4
SMALL UPDATES IN LATE OCTOBER 2025:
● Lesson 1.1- Scaffolds/Supports- Checklist of "what to look for" in student initial models and observations
● Lesson 1.3- Exit ticket (Why shouldn't you put hot soup in the fridge?)- to review and formative assess understanding with new application
● Lesson 1.4- New warm up to review and formatively assess understanding (melting ice cream); Added new instructional step-by-step video on how to use simulation (student-facing)
● Lesson 1.5 (Assessment)- Added more scaffolded/specific template for rice krispie treat model to better focus and assess student understanding of core concepts
LARGE UPDATES IN SEPTEMBER 2025:
● NEW- Cooling Butter Lab added to Lesson 1.1
● NEW- Lesson 1.2 -Act it Out Activity + Simulation Activity --> drives home particle models for each state of matter
● NEW- Lesson 1.3- New Demo (Aluminum Foil + Butter) + Simulation Activity --> introduction to thermal energy transfer
● NEW- Lesson 1.4- Investigation rooted in Simulation --> factors in thermal energy transfer
SMALL UPDATES IN SEPTEMBER 2025:
● Adjustment- More time/scaffolding for initial models in Lesson 1.1 and 1.2 + reviewing/building lab safety skills in Lesson 1.1
● NEW- Student Choice: Recipe Analysis [Partial HW Assignment] (in Lesson 1.5)
● Small Adjustments/Reordering of Activities to unpack bubbles and color change (Lesson 2.1- Optional)
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Simulations for this Lesson
Tea and Temperature
Modeling Smell
How is Tea Made?
Comparing Gases & Liquids
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