A recording sheet for testing which cup keeps warm water warm longest. The 3-page 5th grade investigation lists five steps and shows a photo of foam, paper, plastic and metal cups. Students record temperatures in degrees Celsius at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes in a four-row table. Page 2 gives a line graph frame with temperature from 20 to 50 and time from 0 to 20 minutes, plus three conclusion questions. The answer key has sample data and a graph check.
5.G.A.2
“Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.”
Students plot time against temperature for four cups and read the gap between lines at 20 minutes.
5-PS1-3
“Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.”
Four cup materials are compared by how much heat the water loses, and question 1 names the best insulator from the data.
Five steps: the same amount of warm tap water in four cups, a thermometer in each, and readings at 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes.
A table with rows for the foam, paper, plastic and metal cups and columns for 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes.
A frame titled Water Temperature Over Time and a key with four boxes, one per cup. Students plot the readings and join the points.
Three questions: which cup was the best insulator, which lost heat fastest and why, and how to make the best cup even better.
Sample readings for every cup (foam 45 to 39, metal 45 to 29), the end points to check on student graphs and model answers.
Predict first
Ask students to rank the four cups before any water is poured. They compare the ranking with their data table afterward.
Same start
Check that every cup starts at the same temperature before timing begins. The sample key has all four at 45, and uneven starts make the lines hard to compare.
One line per cup
Students color a key box and draw one line per cup. Four lines on one graph show the gap between foam and metal at 20 minutes.
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