Energy Forms and Changes - Dorian Blell

The simulation you will be working with today is a type of model. It simulates the relationship
between energy types and demonstrates how heat is transferred between substances and how
energy is converted from one form to another form in a system.

● Begin by going to this website : http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/energy-

forms-and-changes
● Click on the “Run Now” button to run the simulation if your teacher has not already
downloaded the simulation.
● When the simulation has downloaded, make sure that the “Intro” tab on the upper left of
the screen is selected (see screenshot image at below).

You have 3 materials to work with, two solids – iron and brick – and a liquid, water. You can
click and drag a thermometer to each of these materials. To see how the energy flows click on
the white box in the upper right to the left of the words “Energy Symbols”. You can also move
three materials so that they are over the heat source and watch what happens.

● Click and drag the brick, the water and the iron block over the heat sources and turn on
the heat one at a time until the maximum temperature is reached and then stop activating
the heat.

● What happens to the temperature shown on the thermometer? How are the responses of
the iron, brick and the water similar or different? Do they take the same amount of time
to reach maximum temperature? Is the maximum temperature the same for all of them?
Why or why not?

Energy
Material Temperature Movement
 The iron reached its Energy transferred from the heat source to
Iron the iron. The atoms were more slowly
maximum temperature after
moving, and it therefore took longer to
21 seconds. heat. The heated iron slowly released
energy into the air.

The temperature of the brick
Brick reached the maximum
temperature the thermometer
could measure. In my
simulation the brick took
16.8 seconds to reach its
maximum temperature.
Energy was transferred from the heat
source into the brick until the atoms were
excited and the temperature increased to
its maximum point. At maximum heat the
brick slowly released thermal energy into
the atmosphere.

Water reached only 40% of There was a greater degree of freedom in

Water the temperature reached by
Brick and Iron before boiling
and releasing water vapor.
the energy transfer of water. It again
moved from the heat source through the
glass, to the water, and then to the
atmosphere at a greater speed than the
other materials.

What does this simulation show you about heat and energy?

This experiment illustrated the concept of thermal energy transfer between objects. The Iron took
longer than brick to reach its maximum temperature, suggesting that the iron can hold more
thermal energy than brick. Seeing the flow of energy allowed me to see why water couldn’t
reach the temperatures of the solids; the energy is lost to the atmosphere when water is energized
past its boiling point.

● Click the “Reset All” button and then click and drag the brick over the heat and heat it to
the maximum. Be sure a thermometer is attached to both. When the brick has reached its
maximum heat click and drag it into the beaker of water.
What happened to the temperature of the brick and the temperature of the water?

When placed in water, the temperature of the brick decreases quickly as thermal energy moves to
the water. The temperature of water rises as thermal energy excites the particles. Temperature
stops changing when thermal equilibrium is reached.

How did the energy move?

The energy moved from the brick into the water

Repeat the same experiment but this time heat the iron and place it in the water. Record
your observations:

The iron cools rapidly and the water heats rapidly, the water overshoots its boiling point and
steams for quite a long time before the heat is lost to the atmosphere. Once thermal equilibrium
is achieved between the atmosphere, the iron, and the water, the thermal energy stops moving.

Repeat the same experiment but this time heat the water and place the cool iron in the
water. Record your observations:

The water cools slowly and the iron heats rapidly. The steam stops immediately after the iron is
placed and thermal energy is transferred to the iron instead of the atmosphere.

Repeat the same experiment but this time heat the water and place the cool brick in the
water. Record your observations:

The exact same temperature was reached in both the brick and iron after being placed in boiling
water. The iron took slightly longer to heat than the brick.

What does this simulation show you about heat and energy?
From the water simulation we can see that the water actually holds more energy than either of
the solids because both brick and iron reached the same temperature. The atomic composition
doesn’t allow water to reach the higher temperatures of the solid, however it holds a greater
amount of thermal energy.