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Science and Technology K–6 · Year 3

Where does heat come from? Measuring five heat sources

Science understanding: Physical sciences

PracticalLow risk

The idea

Heat energy comes from several sources, the Sun, friction, electricity, chemical reactions and our own bodies, and each can be measured as a temperature rise.

Safety card

Low riskAn adult supervises

Hazards

  • hand warmer surface
  • torch globe heat
  • sun exposure

Controls

  • teacher handles the torch and hand warmer
  • no holding of the hand warmer against skin
  • hats outdoors

Note

Risk assessment before the lesson using Primary RiskAssess or the school's own template.

What you need

  • infrared thermometer (non-contact)
  • a wooden ruler and a piece of felt (friction)
  • a torch left on for 5 minutes (electrical, held by the teacher)
  • an air-activated hand warmer sachet (chemical, iron oxidation)
  • a black tile placed in the sun for 10 minutes (solar)
  • the learner's own palm (body heat)
  • recording table

How to do it

  1. Read the room temperature on a wall or tabletop with the infrared thermometer and write it down as the baseline.
  2. Rub the felt hard along the ruler for 30 seconds and read the ruler surface at once.
  3. Read the surface of the torch globe end after 5 minutes on (teacher holds it).
  4. Open the hand warmer, shake it, wait 5 minutes and read its surface.
  5. Read the black tile that has been in the sun for 10 minutes and a matching tile in the shade.
  6. Read your palm.
  7. Record each reading, subtract the baseline, and rank the five sources by temperature rise. Name the source of energy for each.

What you should see

Every source reads above the baseline. The hand warmer and the sunlit black tile give the largest rises; the palm reads about 33 to 35 degrees Celsius (skin temperature); the torch end and the rubbed ruler give the smallest rises, and an LED torch barely warms at all. The rise, not the absolute reading, is the measure; the learner reports it as a table and a labelled bar graph.

What changes

What you change
the source of heat
What you measure
temperature rise above the room baseline
What you keep the same
  • same thermometer
  • same distance from the surface
  • same room

Common misconceptions

Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.

  • Only fire and the Sun make heat.
  • Rubbing makes heat because hands are warm (the ruler warms even when rubbed with felt).
  • A thermometer measures heat (it measures temperature; heat is the energy that moved).

Curriculum references

The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.

  • Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2017), current, taught until 2026; code read from the syllabus document on 22 September 2026ST2-8PW-STST2-1WS-S
  • Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024), implemented from 2027; NESA's timeline is 2026 plan and prepare and 2027 start teaching, and schools may choose to implement it during 2026; code read from the outcomes page on 22 September 2026ST2-DAT-01
  • Australian Curriculum v9AC9S3U03AC9S3I03AC9S3I06

Sources

The pages the author read to write this activity.

  1. www.scootle.edu.au/ec/search?accContentId=AC9S3U03
  2. curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2024/outcomes
  3. www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/curriculum/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2017
  4. primaryconnections.org.au/teaching-sequences/year-3/scorching-swings-and-slides
  5. primaryconnections.org.au/v84-sequences/heating

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