Using Vernier Temperature Probes are a great way for teachers to integrate technology in their classroom. This project uses probes to measure the temperature of hot coffee and cold water and ultimately decides the perfect amount of cold water needed to enjoy your cup of coffee. Having the students complete this experiment to collect data will be more engaging for them compared to getting data from a textbook. Since students will be using their very own data, they will be eager to solve the given equation, which will strengthen the skills necessary to meet the learning target. That is because the students will solve the equation multiple times to answer different questions and the more practice they have and the higher their engagement level, the more likely they are to remember these skills.

The questions asked in this assignment start simple, strengthening the students’ ideas and concepts of how all of the different temperatures and volumes relate to each other. As the students become more comfortable with the data, they are asked to apply their knowledge and equation solving skills to answer more difficult questions. Also, this project will be very memorable for the students and the teacher can refer back to it in future assignments so the students can recall the skills used to complete this task.

Many of the children have parents who drink coffee and undoubtedly, some of those parents probably burn their mouths. Students can actually apply these skills at home and determine how much cold water their parent(s) should add to make their coffee more enjoyable.

Here is assignment sheet needed to complete the experiment Vernier Probes Cooling Off