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Year 7

Changing temperature

I can describe what happens to the particles that make up a solid or liquid when the temperature changes.

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Year 7

Changing temperature

I can describe what happens to the particles that make up a solid or liquid when the temperature changes.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. If left for long enough, all objects in a room will reach the same temperature as the room.
  2. Heating a solid makes its particles vibrate more quickly.
  3. Heating a liquid makes its particles move around more quickly.
  4. Heating a solid or liquid causes the separation of its particles to increase.
  5. Heating a solid or liquid causes it to expand.

Keywords

  • Expand - to increase in volume

  • Contract - to decrease in volume

  • Particle - the smallest part of a substance

  • Vibrate - to repeatedly and regularly move back–and–forth

Common misconception

Pupils often think that the temperature of larger ice cubes is colder than smaller ones because they take longer to melt.

Emphasise that both a small and large ice cube are at the same temperature when they are in the same freezer.


To help you plan your year 7 science lesson on: Changing temperature, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Most schools have sets of equipment to demonstrate the expansion of a solid, such as a bar and gauge, or a ball and hoop. Contraction of a solid can be demonstrated with a ‘bar-breaker’ apparatus.
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Equipment

For demonstration of expansion and contraction: bar and gauge; bar-breaker apparatus; ball and hoop; flask of coloured liquid with capilliary tube to show expansion of a warmed liquid.

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Licence

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.
The temperature of pure boiling water is °C.
Correct Answer: 100, 100°C, 100 degrees C, 100 degrees Celsius
Q2.
Human body temperature is normally about °C.
Correct Answer: 37, 37°C, 37 degrees C, 37 degrees Celsius
Q3.
What is the name of the temperature at which water changes from its solid state into its liquid state?
boiling point
evaporation point
Correct answer: melting point
turning point
Q4.
At what temperature does pure water freeze, compared to the temperature at which pure water melts?
It freezes at a lower temperature than it melts.
Correct answer: It freezes at the same temperature as it melts.
It freezes at a higher temperature than it melts.
Q5.
To measure temperature of a beaker of water, the water is stirred and the of a thermometer is put into the middle of it.
Correct Answer: bulb
Q6.
Which of the following describes the particles in iron in its solid state?
stationary
Correct answer: vibrating
Correct answer: fixed in place
not fixed in place

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does increasing the temperature of a metal in the solid state do to the particles it is made from?
Nothing, they are fixed in position.
Makes each one a little bit bigger.
Correct answer: Makes them vibrate more vigorously.
Makes them move around more quickly.
Q2.
Why does a solid expand at higher temperatures?
Its particles change shape.
Its particles each become a little bit bigger.
Correct answer: Its particles push each other slightly further apart.
Some of its particles move to new positions.
Q3.
In how many directions (out of length, width and height) does a metal bar expand when its temperature increases?
0
1
2
Correct answer: 3
Q4.
Two different sized blocks of pure solid water (ice) are removed from a freezer at the same time. Which block of ice melts at the lowest temperature?
the smaller block
the larger block
Correct answer: neither block
Q5.
Why does a liquid expand when it is heated to a higher temperature?
Its particles change shape.
Its particles each become a little bit bigger.
Correct answer: Its particles push each other slightly further apart.
Q6.
Sort the following statements into the correct order to describe how a thermometer measures the temperature of some hot water.
1 - Coloured liquid in the bulb of the thermometer is heated.
2 - The coloured liquid expands as its temperature increases.
3 - The coloured liquid rises up a narrow tube in the centre of the thermometer.
4 - The higher its temperature, the higher it rises.
5 - The height it rises to is measured on a scale that shows its temperature.