Mississippi Science E.8.10.4
The Standard
- E.8.10
- Students will demonstrate an understanding that a decrease in natural resources is directly related to the increase in human population on Earth and must be conserved.
Using an engineering design process, develop a system to capture and distribute thermal energy that makes renewable energy more readily available and reduces human impact on the environment (e.g., building solar water heaters, conserving home energy). *
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Earth’s Resources
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students design a way to collect sunlight, warm water, and move that water where it is needed. They test the design, change one part, and explain how it could reduce fuel use.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can label the collector and show how warm water reaches a second container. They use temperature readings to explain whether a design change worked.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students think shiny foil absorbs more sunlight than a black surface. Others think moving warm water creates heat, or that a solar heater has no environmental impact at all.
How to Assess It
- On an exit ticket, ask students to sketch a solar water heater that warms water for a sink. Have them label the collector, the route to the sink, and two places they would measure temperature.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build a foil-tray heater with a black cup; warm water in sunlight, pour it into a second cup, and measure both temperatures.
Ask students to sketch how sunlight warms the water, then write how that water could reach a sink.
Give pairs two collector sketches and temperature readings; ask them to choose one design and revise it to warm water more.
Show a rooftop solar water heater photo; have students trace warm water to a shower and explain how it could save natural gas.
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