Mississippi Science PHY.3.8
The Standard
- PHY.3
- Students will develop an understanding of concepts related to work and energy.
Enrichment: Research to compare the first and second laws of thermodynamics as related to heat engines, refrigerators, and thermal efficiency.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Work and Energy
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use sources to compare how a heat engine produces work and how a refrigerator uses work to move heat. They explain why engines release waste heat and refrigerators need an energy input.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can draw both devices with correct heat and work arrows, then use the first law to account for energy in and out. They use the second law to explain why an engine cannot turn all its input heat into work and why a refrigerator needs work to move heat from cold to hot.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may say a refrigerator makes cold, rather than moving heat out. They may think an engine can turn all heat into work, or that waste heat means energy has disappeared.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: An engine takes in 100 J of heat and produces 30 J of work; a fridge removes 30 J of heat using 10 J of work. Ask for the engine's waste heat and efficiency, the fridge's heat released to the room, and one second-law limit for each device.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs 10 paper energy tokens and hot, cold, and work mats; have them model an engine and refrigerator without losing tokens.
Show engine and refrigerator diagrams; ask, 'Which law accounts for energy, and which explains why heat moves in that direction?'
Give pairs heat-in, heat-out, work-in, and work-out arrow cards; have them race to arrange and explain both devices.
Show a photo of refrigerator condenser coils; ask students to label heat from food, electrical work, and heat entering the kitchen.
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Printable PHY.3.8 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to PHY.3.8, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- PHY.3.5
Investigate, collect data, and summarize the principles of thermodynamics by exploring how heat energy is transferred from higher temperature to lower temperatu...
- PHY.3.6
Enrichment: Design, conduct, and communicate investigations that explore how temperature and thermal energy relate to molecular motion and states of matter.
- PHY.3.10
Enrichment: Research the efficiency of everyday machines (e.g., automobiles, hair dryers, refrigerators, and washing machines).
- CHE.10.1
Enrichment: Construct explanations to explain how temperature and heat flow in terms of the motion of molecules (or atoms).
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