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Creating an
Earth System I

Classroom activity:

Differential Heating and Cooling

Teachers compared rates of heating and cooling between sand and water and then compared their results to temperature patterns between land and oceans around the world

Results:

Sand heats more rapidly (and loses heat more quickly) than water; therefore, continents heat more rapidly than oceans, but will also lose heat more quickly. Specific heat = the amount of energy needed to raise one gram by one degree. Therefore, there is a big difference between the specific heat of sand and water.

Extensions:

Will the amount of materials make a difference? Will different materials make a difference? The distance between the material and the heat source?

Link directly to the extension activity here.

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