Temperature and Total Energy Science Games

In this series of games, your students will learn about the relationship between energy and temperature. The Temperature and Total Energy learning objective — based on NGSS and state standards — delivers improved student engagement and academic performance in your classroom, as demonstrated by research.

Scroll down for a preview of this learning objective’s games and the concepts they drive home.

Concepts Covered

The energy of motion is called kinetic energy. Anything that is moving has kinetic energy, including the atoms and molecules vibrating in a substance. The total kinetic energy of those particles creates thermal energy.

Temperature measures the average kinetic energy of those vibrating particles. The more they move, the higher the temperature. However, temperature cannot measure the total thermal energy of a substance.

A substance’s total thermal energy depends on its temperature, number of atoms, and physical state. More atoms and higher temperature mean more thermal energy. If all other conditions are the same, substances in gas form have the most thermal energy, followed by liquids, then solids.

Temperature can be measured with a thermometer. The matter inside a thermometer expands as its particles gain thermal energy and move. There are three scales for quantifying temperature:

• Degrees Fahrenheit (℉)
• Degrees Celsius (℃)
• Kelvins (K)

Scientists can also measure temperature based on the color of light an object gives off. This is useful if an object is far away, or if it is too hot to touch.

Mass can be measured using a mass balance. Units of mass are grams (g) or Kilograms (kg).

A preview of each game in the learning objective is found below.

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