Create Your Own Radiation Box!

Sunny days are great opportunities to explore heat and energy transfer! Even though the sun is an average of 93 MILLION miles away from Earth, we rely on the energy from the sun to provide energy to producers. These organisms such as algae, phytoplankton, and trees, then provide the basis of energy for ecosystems throughout our planet!

On Muddy Sneakers’ Energy Expeditions students play games, look for examples of heat transfer, and learn that heat energy transferred as rays and waves through open space is called radiation. Explore heat transfer at home with our step-by-step radiation box! Heat up cups of water as shown in the instructions below, or substitute water for tea, chocolate to melt…get creative! Tell us about what you warmed up with your radiation box. How warm did it get? How many degrees did the temperature change?

Materials:

• Small cardboard box
• Aluminum foil
• Marker
• Scissors
• Tape
• Cooking thermometer
• Water (or other items to warm)
• 2 small cups (optional)
• Plastic wrap (optional)
• Rubber band (optional)

Step 1: Cut flaps off of the cardboard box.

Step 2: Draw and cut an angle into one side of the box.

Step 3: Cut an angle into the other side and remove the flap.

Step 4: Cut a piece of foil large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the box. Press the foil into the bottom of the box. (The foil will fold up on the backside.)

Step 5: Fold the foil over the sides and tape foil on the sides and back.

Step 6 (optional): Cut plastic wrap to fit over each cup (if you’re heating a liquid) and/or over the box.

Step 7: Prepare your items to warm! To maintain scientific controls for your experiment, try to keep your two items as similar as possible. If you are using water, pour an equal amount of water into each cup. Take the temperature of both cups (or objects) and write it down, along with the time.

Step 8: Place one cup (or object) in the Radiation Box and leave the other outside the box. Make sure both are in the sun. If using plastic wrap, cover cup(s) and/or box.

Step 9: After the allowed amount of time, remove any plastic wrap. First, take the temperature of the water (or object) in the Radiation Box. Then take the temperature of the water outside the box. Record time and temperatures on the table in your notebook or the student worksheet below!

Student worksheet: Radiation Box Experiment