LESSON STUDY:

Physics – Specific Heat Capacity

(Batangas State University Integrated School)

Lesson Study Goal:

to develop enduring conceptual understanding of science concepts
through computer mediated activities

Conducted by:

Mr. Joni M. Albarico – Instructor

Ms. Marup de Guzman
Ms. Hanna Angela C. Eugenio
Ms. Jocylene P. Mendoza
Ms. Nepheline Khaye Karenn G. Perez

Submitted to:

Prof. Elenita Que

Assistant Professor at the UP College of Education,
Educational Technology Department.
EDUC 294, Computer Software in Education

Page 1 of 17
 Date: NOVEMBER 15, 2014 (SATURDAY)
Grade: FOURTH YEAR HIGH SCHOOL
Period and Location: BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY, Integrated School
Instructor: Mr. JONI M. ALBARICO

I. Background information

A. Goal of the Lesson Study Group: 


The group plans to conduct a lesson study on how to develop scientifically literate
students to analyze a phenomenon by discriminating empirical data aided with science
processes skills. It cannot be denied that most learners in a class are quite passive. They
only rely on the information handed on them. Most also haven’t developed the
confidence to express the results of a scientific observation. Some are very reluctant in
communicating themselves. Despite this scenario, there are some who can fully express
themselves in writing.
It was observed that there is obviously a gap between the group’s aspiration and
the reality on the students’ performance. Maybe, it was not put into practice in their
previous science classes to conduct experiments and discover a phenomenon or scientific
theory. Materials needed to demonstrate a science concept are quite inadequate and not
readily available. One way of bridging that gap is providing computer simulations that
will show the science concept the teacher wants his students to visualize. That is why in
this lesson study, the goal was to develop enduring conceptual understanding of science
concepts through computer mediated activities. Through this study, a group of teachers
can think of ways of finding the most suitable application and teaching method for the
lesson.
By drafting an instructional plan that is aligned to the learning goal, we can
further explore our lesson study goal. Likewise, the plan should be implemented to check
if it will really meet the desired learning goal.

B. Narrative Overview of Background Information: 


The classroom in Batangas State University Integrated School was not fully
equipped with the recent technology. Though computers are available for students, it isn’t
in one-is-to-one-ratio basis. Materials and equipment in the science laboratory were not
sufficient for the needs of the whole student population.
The students under study belong to fourth year level. They are 50 students: 19
boys and 31 girls. It is expected that they fully understand the basics of mechanics
(physics concepts) and mathematical skills needed for physics that they have learned
from their previous physics class. Also, it was seen that these students are more
motivated to learn if a wide variety of activities are employed to them. They also like

Page 2 of 17
 activities in which they can freely express their ideas.
The instructor informed the observers to be aware that the group of students that
is being observed is quite wary when it comes to expressing themselves orally, but these
students do participate when motivated.
Since the observers will be dealing with mostly passive students, interactive
teaching techniques to gain more valuable responses are anticipated from the group.
Specifically, a pair activity will be used since concept development will depend on this
stage of the lesson. This pair activity is an experiment to be done through computer
simulation. The use of simulation can also lessen the prevalence of experimental errors
since the results will show the ideal scenario aided by computers.
The focus of the discussion is about Heat. This physics concept is important for it
serves as the leading topic to other areas of thermal physics and thermodynamics. The
lesson can also be used to explain basic science concept or phenomenon. Students may
have misconceptions on what kind of objects will heat and/or cool faster.
At the end of the lesson, the lesson study group expects students to be able to
identify what specific heat is and the factors that can affect the amount of heat released or
absorbed by a material. Students should also be able to solve problems related to the
physics concept.
Aside from the main goal - to develop enduring conceptual understanding of
science concepts through computer mediated activities – The group also like to attain
other goals articulated in the instructional plan.

II. Unit Information

A. Name of the unit: STATES OF MATTER - Thermal Energy and Temperature

B. Goal(s) of the unit: 


In this unit, students will apply these theories to the study of the physical
properties of the states of matter.
Knowledge of the properties of these states of matter will allow students to better
understand the operation of mechanical devices such as car engines, the physiology of
their body, physical factors that affect the climate, the evolving structure of the earth and
other interesting properties of nature.
Temperature and heat are two different concepts but are related to each other.
Temperature is usually associated with heat. The difference between heat and
temperature is often confusing that it has been a source of misconceptions among
students, especially in the way the terms are used. For students to fully understand it, they
are expected to:
1. Trace the transformation of thermal energy to mechanical energy and other
forms of energy in heat engines

Page 3 of 17
 2. Develop awareness in the significance of the knowledge of heat and
temperature in saving lives

C. How this unit is related to the curriculum: 


Batangas State University Integrated School follows the curriculum: Technology-
Based Curriculum for the Engineering and Technical Education for Special Science High
School. This curriculum encompasses the domains provided by the Department of
Education for the subjects namely science and mathematics.
Specifically, the unit – States of Matter: Thermal Energy and Temperature is
aligned with the curriculum sharing common targets:
1. Realize the importance of physics in the development of technology.
2. Cite some important contributions of physics to industrialization and national and
global development.
3. Apply the laws and principles of physics in devising tools and making informed
decisions about health, social and environmental problems.

D. Instructional sequence for the unit: 


SYLLABUS FOR SCIENCE IV-A

AY 2014-2015

COURSE INFORMATION
Course Code : SCIENCE IV A
Course Title : Physics II
Course Credit : 1.5 units
FIRST SEMESTER (JUNE-OCTOBER)
I. MECHANICS
A. Gravity and the Law of Universal Gravitation
B. Circular and Rotational Motion
C. Work and Power
D. Energy and Energy Conservation

II. STATES OF MATTER

A. Systems of Fluids and Solids
1. States of Matter
2. Density and Specific Gravity
3. Fluid Statics
4. Buoyancy and Archimedes’ Principle
5. Fluid Dynamics
6. Solid Distortion

Page 4 of 17
 B. Thermal Energy and Temperature
1. Thermal Energy and its Sources
2. Temperature Scales
3. Heat Capacity and Specific Heat
a. Define specific heat.
b. Identify the factors that affect the amount of heat released or absorbed by
materials.
c. Solve word problems involving specific heat.
d. Identify the major effects of heat on objects.
4. Thermal Expansion
5. Phase Change
6. Law of Heat Exchange and Calorimetry
7. Heat Transfer
C. Thermodynamics
1. Heat and Work
2. Heat Engines
III. WAVE PHYSICS
A. Nature of Waves
B. Sound
C. Light

III. Lesson Information

A. Name of the study lesson: SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY

B. Goals of the study lesson:

 Identify the factors that affect the amount of heat absorbed by a material through
virtual laboratory
 Define specific heat capacity
 Calculate precisely the amount of heat absorbed or released by a material using
the available data
 Relate a material’s specific heat with its practical usage.

C. How this study lesson is related to the lesson study goal:

The lesson study goal was to develop enduring conceptual understanding of science
concepts through computer-mediated activities. This goal was seen through simulations, video
clip and game-based motivation.
As a motivation, the teacher will present a game (4 pics in a word) to unlock some
important vocabulary that will be used in the discussion. Through simulations, students will be
able to identify the factors that affect the amount of heat absorbed by a material. Also, using

Page 5 of 17
video clip, students will relate a material’s specific heat with its practical usage.

D. Process of the study lesson:

Steps of the lesson: Student Teacher’s response Goals and Methods

Learning Activities Activities/expected to student reaction/ of Evaluation
and Key Questions student reactions or Things to remember
(and time allocation) responses
How should this What do I expect of Is there anything What should I look
lesson progress? How my students? How specific I want to for to know that my
much time should I will they respond? remember to do? Any goal/s have been
spend? reminders for my achieved?
Students will actively students?
The lesson should participate in the Students shall be able Through the write-ups
progress based on the activities designed for to realize the factors of my students, I may
5E model of science the lesson. In that affect the amount know if they were able
instruction aided with particular, they will of heat absorbed or to answer the
computer technology. be developing science released by a essential question for
The lesson is designed concepts through a material. They shall the lesson. They shall
to be taught in an virtual experiment to be able to capture the also be able to solve
hour. be done on a answers to this problems involving
computer. question through specific heat capacity.
proper execution of
the virtual
experiment.
How will I motivate
my students? How
will I determine that
my students are
motivated?

Students will be
motivated through a
simple guessing game
(4 Pics 1 Word). They
are motivated if their
participation in the
discussion is at most.

How will I use the What do I expect my Does my blackboard

Page 6 of 17
blackboard in this students to record in provide a good
lesson? What do I their notes? summary of this
expect my students to lesson?
record in their notes?

The blackboard will Students are expected Salient points of the

be used in presenting to take down essential lesson will be
the major concepts notes related to the projected through a
related to the lesson. lesson. In particular, projector.
Solutions to sample they will write their
problems involving exercises on their
specific heat will also notebooks.
be written on the
board. Students are
expected to take down
essential notes related
to the lesson. In
particular, they will
write their exercises
on their notebooks.
How will I present the What activity will What specifically will What will I be looking
activity/problem in students work on? I be doing during the for?
this lesson? activity/group work?
Students will work on The teacher will
The virtual a virtual experiment. During the activity, determine if students
experiment will be The goal of the the teacher will go were able to construct
presented in class. activity is for students around and determine relationships based
The teacher will to identify the factors if students are from the results of the
explain the mechanics that affect the amount working on the said activity (if students
of the activity. of heat absorbed or experiment. were able to identify
Should I use group released by a Furthermore, the the factors that may
work? What size material. teacher shall act as a affect the amount of
groups should I use? support in case heat absorbed or
What rules or students find trouble released by a
directions should the while doing the material).
groups be given? activity. After the
activity, the class will
Students will be discuss the guiding
working in pairs for questions that will
this activity. One lead to the essential

Page 7 of 17
computer unit is topics/lessons for the
assigned for a pair. day.
The teacher will give
a small sheet of paper
containing the URL of
the virtual
experiment. Likewise,
activity sheets will
also be handed to
each pair.
What 3 or 4 How do I expect my What summary will I What should they
processing questions students to respond? use? know before I
will I use to move the The teacher will continue?
lesson along? explain that not all
objects have the same Students should be
1. What happened to The temperature rose rate of absorbing or knowledgeable about
the temperature of after the blocks of releasing heat. These the difference between
the blocks of wood wood were heated. can be affected by the heat and temperature.
after being heated? mass of the object and They should also be
2. In Set A, did both its nature. Hence, the able to perform basic
blocks have the No, they did not have rate by which conversion of heat
same temperature the same temperature materials absorb or and temperature
after being heated? after heating. They release heat is called quantities.
What could be the have different mass. specific heat capacity
reason behind your or simply specific
observation? heat.
3. Describe your
findings in Set B. Not all blocks have
4. What could be the the same temperature
reason behind your after being heated.
observation? Though they have the
5. What factors affect same mass, they were
the amount of heat made of different
absorbed or materials.
released by a The factors that affect
material? the amount of heat
absorbed or released
by an object are its
mass and its nature.
What new vocabulary

Page 8 of 17
will be introduced?
How will I introduce
it?

Specific heat is the

new vocabulary to be
introduced. It will be
introduced based on
the results of the
activity.
What materials and/or What are ways my What did I learn about
visuals will I need? students might use student
Make a list. these materials? understanding/
thinking from the use
A slide presentation For viewing purposes. of these materials?
on specific heat
A video presentation In the use of a virtual
to be downloaded experiment, students
from YouTube (the were able to
water balloon articulate the desired
experiment) scientific principle to
The virtual To generate ideas be learned since the
experiment which can through an experiment is free
be done online experiment. from errors due to
erroneous
How will I make the measurements and
materials available to uncertainties.
my students if they
are intended for their
use?
Since the class has a
Facebook page, the
file can just be
uploaded and then
students will
download it for future
reference.
How can I develop the What misconceptions How should I respond How do I know that
lesson to alleviate or might students have? to each potential there are no more
minimize them? misconception? misconceptions?

Page 9 of 17
 The misconception There shall be follow- When students are
maybe is on which up conceptual able to answer the
objects cool or heat questions before questions
first – the one with going to a more independently. A
lower or higher complex topic in the separate test
specific heat capacity. lesson. containing open-
ended questions may
be administered to
students.
What teaching pitfalls
do I need to watch out
for? What should I be
looking for?
On the presentation of
practical examples
and situations where
specific heat is
involved.
How will I conclude What should students
the lesson? know at the end of
this lesson? How will
The lesson will be I know that they know
concluded with it?
students’
generalizations and a 1. Identify the
video on the water factors that affect
balloon experiment. the amount of heat
absorbed by a
material through
virtual laboratory.
2. Define specific
heat.
3. Calculate
precisely the
amount of heat
absorbed or
released by a
material using
available data.
4. Relate a

Page 10 of 17
 material’s specific
heat with its
practical usage.
Through a short test
or generalizations
that will be delivered
in class orally.

E. Evaluation
The success of this study is seen based on the students’ performance and outputs
on the topic tackled. A way of determining if students understood the concepts taught in
this lesson is through the responses that they will deliberate after doing the pair activity.
Moreover, it can also be gauged through their participation in the discussion of results. It
can also be demonstrated through formative assessment like problem solving activities.
This also should be followed with an appropriate homework that would give a
particular scenario and students will think of the reason behind such situation through
conceptual reasoning. Solving problem sets on specific heat would also do.
Students’ essential understanding on the topics through the responses written on
the activity sheet is enough evidence to gain full achievement of the study. However,
there are limitations. One of which is on the selection of appropriate technology to be
incorporated in presenting the lesson as well as proper assessment tasks to be employed
on students to determine if learning took place.

Observers’ Feedback:
For the instructor:
- Sir Joni is good at raising probing questions which are really needed since his students
are quite passive.
- Sir Joni’s way of relating the science concepts with real-life scenario is really useful for
the full understanding of the lesson. His way of explaining the “why’s” are equally
valuable as his way of explaining the “what’s”
- Sir Joni can further make the lesson livelier if he would allow the students to do the board
works and let the students come up with the formula by themselves. He would then
process the formula they came about afterwards and see if they are right.
- He could also ask for student’s real-life experience, observation, or questions about the
topic on HEAT (absorption, transfer, or release) for example how Air conditioner works,
etc.
For the teaching techniques/materials:
- It is good that he used simulation to teach Heat since there was insufficient materials
available.
- Pair work is effective in sharing of ideas and still allow individual processing of the

Page 11 of 17
 lesson guided by the activity sheets.
- Letting the students see a video on water balloon raised the curiosity of the students
regarding the lesson

F. Appendix

Appendix 1
INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN FOR LESSON STUDY
Science IV A (Physics II)

I. Learning Objectives
At the end of the sixty-minute session, students shall be able to
1. Identify the factors that affect the amount of heat absorbed by a material through virtual
laboratory.
2. Define specific heat.
3. Calculate precisely the amount of heat absorbed or released by a material using available data.
4. Relate a material’s specific heat with its practical usage.

II. Subject Matter

A. Topic: Specific Heat Capacity
B. Materials: LCD projector, computer units, chalkboard, activity sheets, calculator
C. References
PHYSICS (You and the Natural World Series) by Navaza and Valdes
Physics: Principles and Applications by Douglas Giancoli
Specific Heat Capacity Simulation Retrieved from:
http://employees.oneonta.edu/viningwj/sims/specific_heat_s.html
The Physics Classroom Website
D. Values Concept
Cooperation with groupmates, health awareness

III. Teaching Methodology

A. PREPARATORY ACTIVITIES (prayer, greetings, etc.)

B. ENGAGE (4 Pics 1 Word Challenge)

Using a slide presentation, the teacher will show a set of illustrations that depict one
major word. The words are related to the lesson discussed in the previous session. Answering the
riddle will be done by calling a student who wants to answer. These are the words to be guessed.
1. TEMPERATURE
2. HEAT
3. CALORIE

After a student answers the puzzle, the teacher will ask a student to tell something about
the word being guessed. This serves as the review of concepts learned from the previous lesson.

Page 12 of 17
C. EXPLORE
Students will perform a virtual experiment entitled Specific Heat Capacity. They will be
working in pairs. Each pair will be handed an activity sheet that will serve as guide in performing
the virtual experiment. The site to be used is:
http://employees.oneonta.edu/viningwj/sims/specific_heat_s.html

Before letting students perform the experiment, the teacher shall explain the procedure of
the experiment. Students will be asked to complete the data in the answer sheet and discuss
among themselves if a trend is observed from the results. Guide questions shall be the basis in
discussing the results.
1. What happened to the temperature of the specimen when you applied heat?
2. Was there a difference when you heated the same sample at different masses?
Explain.
3. Did all samples reach the same temperature after same amount of heat was applied on
them?
4. What do your results imply about a material’s ability to absorb or release heat?

D. EXPLAIN
The teacher will synthesize students’ answers from the performed experiment. This will be used
in discussing specific heat capacity in class.

Specific Heat Capacity (c)

 The amount of heat needed by a material to raise the temperature of a mass of substance
at a certain temperature interval
 The rate by which materials absorb or release heat
 Is expressed by following equation:
 Can be expressed in cal/gC°, kcal/kgC°, J/kgC°, BTU/lbF°

The teacher will also show a table of values for specific heat of different materials. It will also be
explained to the students that specific heat is dependent on the nature of the material. The teacher
shall also present the equation used in calculating the amount of heat absorbed by a material:

Sample word problems on specific heat capacity will be discussed to students.

E. EXTEND
Show a video on the water balloon experiment. The teacher will ask students why the balloon
didn’t pop. Relate this with how specific heat relates to the specific use of a material. Integrate
the idea that water has high specific heat capacity which makes it a very efficient coolant.

F. EVALUATE
Students will be asked to solve two word problems on specific heat capacity.

Page 13 of 17
 Appendix 2:
Virtual Experiment: HEAT ME!

Objective: Identify the factors that affect the amount of heat absorbed or released by a material.

Procedure
Set A
1. Set the flame duration to 5 seconds.
2. Heat 5.0 g of wood by pressing the button HEAT. Each sample will be applied the same amount
of heat.
3. Record the temperature of the block of wood after 5 seconds.
4. Adjust the mass of the wood to 10 g. Then repeat step 2.
5. Record the temperature of the block of wood after 5 seconds.
6. Write the data you have gathered on the following table.

Mass of Wood (g) Initial Temperature Final Temperature

of the Block (Ti) of the Block (Tf)
5
10

Set B
1. Heat 5 g of the following samples in the virtual laboratory: wood, copper, glass, silver, sodium,
water. Each sample will be applied the same amount of heat.
2. Record the temperature of each sample after 5 seconds.
3. Write the data you have gathered on the following table.

Sample Initial Temperature Final Temperature

of the Block (Ti) of the Block (Tf)
Wood
Copper
Glass
Silver
Sodium
Water

Guide Questions
1. What happened to the temperature of the blocks of wood after being heated?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

2. In Set A, did both blocks have the same temperature after being heated? What could be the reason
behind your observation?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Page 14 of 17
3. Describe your findings in Set B.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

4. What could be the reason behind your observation?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

5. What factors affect the amount of heat absorbed or released by a material?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Page 15 of 17
 Appendix 3:
Motivational Activity - 4 Pics 1 Word Challenge

Page 16 of 17
 Appendix 4:
Synthesis and Calculations – Specific Heat Capacity

Page 17 of 17