Students will encounter a puzzling temperature phenomenon, generate and refine investigable research questions about water and sand heat transfer, and develop a focused hypothesis that will guide their thermal energy investigation.

Students will design a rigorous, testable methodology to investigate how water and sand differ in temperature change when exposed to and removed from radiant energy, ensuring their approach matches their research question and produces high-quality, analyzable data.

Students will systematically collect temperature data comparing water and sand under radiant energy exposure, document conditions and anomalies in their Thermal Energy Research Notebooks, conduct mid-collection quality checks, and verify that their methodology is being implemented with fidelity before moving to analysis.

Students will transform raw temperature data into meaningful evidence by constructing clear visualizations, identifying patterns and anomalies in heating and cooling curves, debating interpretations with peers, and drafting preliminary findings that connect directly to their research question and hypothesis about water and sand temperature regulation.

Students will draw evidence-based conclusions about how water and sand differ in temperature change, explicitly acknowledge limitations, generate new investigable questions, and present their full investigation—from question through methodology, data, analysis, and conclusions—to an authentic audience during the Earth’s Water Wonders science fair.