Feeling Hot! Hot! Hot!

It's hard to have to stay indoors on a bright sunny day. When the recess bell rings, you may want to run to the sunniest spot on the playground. If you start to get too hot, you may look for a cooler place to play.

Does the temperature change if you go from a sunny to a shady place? Here's an experiment to find out for yourself.

Materials:

• Thermometer
• Paper and pencil
• Watch or timer
• Sunny day

Procedure:

1. Find a sunny spot outside.
2. Place the thermometer on the ground for 5 minutes.
3. While you are waiting, draw where the thermometer is and show if it is in full sun or part sun.
4. After five minutes, write the temperature on your paper.
5. Now choose a spot in the shade and set the thermometer down for five minutes.
6. Place the thermometer on the ground for five minutes.
7. While you are waiting, draw where the thermometer is and show if it is in full sun or part sun.
8. After five minutes, write the temperature on your paper.
9. If you have more time, try some other places to test.

Safety:

Be careful not to break the thermometer!
If it is very hot, be careful what you touch - do not get burned.

Here is an example of this experiment. Roll the mouse over the picture to find the temperature of grass and blacktop in sun and shade.

Click in the blank areas of the graph below that correspond to the temperatures in the columns. This will cause the graph to fill in so you can compare temperatures.

Sun or Shade	Grass	Blacktop
			oF	Grass	Grass	Blacktop	Blacktop

Analysis:

1. Does the grass or blacktop have the greatest temperature change?
• The blacktop changes the most!
2. The temperature of the grass in the shade was 79 F. Which thermometer shows 79 F? (Click on the answer, then close the new window.)
   
3. The temperature of the blacktop in the sun was 127 F. Which thermometer shows 127 F? (Click on the answer, then close the new window.)
   
   
4. The temperature of the grass in the sun was 96 F. Which thermometer shows 96 F? (Click on the answer, then close the new window.)
   
5. The temperature of the blacktop in the shade was 81 F. Which thermometer shows 81 F? (Click on the answer, then close the new window.)