[ 21st century skills library ]
30
Activity
SOLAR ENERGY TO
HEAT WATER EXPERIMENT
Materials:
• 3 different colored plastic bags
(thick bags like compactor
trash bags), must be big enough
to hold about 1 gallon (3.8 l)
of water
• Tape
• Scissors
• Kitchen string, cotton
• 3 partial immersion
thermometers, at least
10 inches (25 cm) long
• Stopwatch
• Lab notebook
• Aluminum foil (1 roll)
1. Fill the plastic bags with water and place them out in the sun. See
how long it takes for each bag to be warmed.
2. Take their temperatures.
3. Put aluminum foil under some of the bags. Does this make the water
warm up faster? Check the temperatures to find out.
4. Does the color of the bag impact how fast it warms up? Check the
temperatures to find out.
