This video by the Paleontological Research Institution describes thermal expansion, how it can be measured experimentally, and how the equation can be used to answer important questions.
It details how thermal expansion causes a significant amount of sea level rise with increasing temperatures.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This is a great video of a thermal expansion experiment and the speaker walks students through the equation at a good pace.
The graphs about sea level rise are impactful.
Additional Prerequisites
You may want to teach your students how to navigate between metric and imperial units.
If you decide to replicate this experiment in your lab you will need the appropriate materials ready beforehand.
Differentiation
Advanced students could experiment with varying degrees of diluted sea water to see if the melting of the ice caps will increase or decrease the rate of thermal expansion in the ocean.
If you decide to replicate the experiment shown in this video, students could work in pairs or groups.
This resource uses a simple experiment to demonstrate the principle of thermal expansion and apply it to the larger issue of sea level rise. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS2: Earth's Systems
HS-ESS2-5 Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.
