Heat energy or thermal energy?

This probe is designed to find out what students know about thermal energy. This is a difficult concept for elementary students, middle school students are just being introduced to energy th... See More

This probe is designed to find out what students know about thermal energy. This is a difficult concept for elementary students, middle school students are just being introduced to energy through energy transformations and transfer, and high schools students are developing an increased understanding of temperature, atoms, and molecules to help understand the concept of thermal energy. This probe can best be used to inform instruction and is best used with middle and high school students to find out what their ideas about what is commonly referred to as “heat energy” before formally using the term “thermal energy”.