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Year 7

Heating and cooling our school sustainably

I can describe ways to reduce the need for heating or cooling in a school.

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New
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Year 7

Heating and cooling our school sustainably

I can describe ways to reduce the need for heating or cooling in a school.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Thermal insulators can reduce the energy needed to heat a building.
  2. Improving a building's insulation makes it easier to heat it using only renewable resources.
  3. Thermostats can control temperature automatically in different rooms and help reduce unnecessary heating.
  4. The greater the temperature difference between the inside and outside of a house, the faster it warms up or cools down
  5. Planting near a house increases the outside temperature on cold days and decreases it on hot days

Keywords

  • Thermal insulator - a material that transfers energy slowly by collisions between moving or vibrating particles

  • Renewable resource - a resource that will not run out because it is replenished more quickly than we use it up

  • Thermal conductor - a material that transfers energy quickly by collisions between moving or vibrating particles

  • Thermostat - a device that can control the heating in part of a building to keep it at a chosen temperature

Common misconception

Winds are cooling because they are moving air that is colder than the surrounding air.

Discuss with pupils how hotter objects heat the air around them, so the temperature difference between them and the air is smaller; and how wind blows away this warmer air. Provide opportunity for them to explain this in their own words.


To help you plan your year 7 science lesson on: Heating and cooling our school sustainably, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Both of the tasks in this lesson are easily adabtable to your own school and may inform, or educate pupils about, a school improvement project. Task B may be carried out for a particular site in school, that pupils could look around and survey.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What happens to the temperature of an hot object’s surroundings when it cools down?
the temperature of the surroundings goes down
the temperature of the surroundings stays the same
Correct answer: the temperature of the surroundings goes up
Q2.
What is the lowest temperature a hot cup of tea will reach as it cools?
a little lower than room temperature
Correct answer: exactly the same as room temperature
not quite as low as room temperature
Q3.
Put the states of matter into order, starting with the best thermal conductor.
1 - solid
2 - liquid
3 - gas
Q4.
Put these substances into order, starting with the best thermal insulator.
1 - air
2 - water
3 - steel
Q5.
Why is woollen top a better insulator than a cotton top?
Correct answer: its fibres trap more air
it grows on animals
it is heavier
it is worn in winter
Q6.
On a hot day, how will wrapping a piece of ice in a woollen scarf change how quickly it melts?
it will melt more quickly
it will take the same amount of time to melt
Correct answer: it will melt more slowly

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Put these substances into order, starting with the best thermal insulator.
1 - air
2 - wood
3 - glass
4 - copper
Q2.
Why is double glazing better at insulating a room than a single glazed window?
it uses a different type of glass
it has fewer gaps around the edge
Correct answer: it has a layer of air trapped in the middle
it uses thicker sheets of glass
Q3.
What is a device called that controls the heating (or cooling) system to keep a room at a chosen temperature?
Correct Answer: thermostat, thermostat
Q4.
How does adding insulating strips around the edge of a window that opens help maintain the temperature of a building?
increases loss of warm air
Correct answer: reduces loss of warm air
increases thermal conduction through the window
reduces thermal conduction through the window
Q5.
On a cold day, why does it feel even colder if there is a wind?
gusts of wind are a lower temperature than the surrounding air
Correct answer: wind blows away a layer of air warmed by a person’s skin
wind makes a person sweat more
wind reduces the temperature of the air
Q6.
How can trees keep a building cooler on a hot sunny day?
their shade lowers the temperature of the building
Correct answer: their shade reduces heating of the building from the sun
Correct answer: water evaporating from leaves lowers the temperature of air
water evaporating from leaves reduces heating of the air from the sun