Science Task Prescreen
Task Title: Thermal Equilibrium: The Blacksmith’s Quench
Grade: High School
Date: 2024-05-15
SEP: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
DCI: PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
CCC: Systems and System Models
Task Purpose: Provide an inquiry-based investigation where students collect initial and final temperature data for two materials of different specific heats within a simulated closed system to calculate heat exchange and deduce the second law of thermodynamics.
Instructions
- Before you begin: Complete the task as a student would. Then, consider any support materials provided to teachers or students, such as contextual information about the task and answer keys/rubrics.
- Prescreen: Answer the following high-level questions to identify any major red flags (🚩) in your task. If you find one or more red flags, consider the purpose of the task and the evidence gathered to determine whether the task warrants a deeper dive.
Prescreen Questionnaire
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Is there a phenomenon or problem driving the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 2. Can the majority of the task be answered without using information provided by the task scenario? | [ ] 🚩 | [x] |
| 3. Can significant portions of the task be answered successfully by using rote knowledge (e.g., definitions, prescriptive or memorized procedure)? | [ ] 🚩 | [x] |
| 4. Does the majority of the task require students to use reasoning to successfully complete the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 5. Does the task require students to use some understanding of disciplinary core ideas to successfully complete the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 6. Do students have to use at least one science and engineering practice to successfully complete the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 7. Are the dimensions assessed separately in the majority of the task? | [ ] 🚩 | [x] |
| 8. Is the task coherent and comprehensible from the student perspective? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
Recommendation
Based on your assessment needs and the task purpose recorded above, make a recommendation about this task moving forward (choose one):
- [x] Warrants further review.
- [ ] Should not be used.
Summary
Summarize your evidence and reasoning:
This task effectively utilizes a clear phenomenon (the blacksmith quenching a horseshoe) to ground an investigation into thermal equilibrium. Students are required to actively interact with the simulation to generate their own temperature data and apply mathematical sensemaking ($Q=mc\Delta T$) rather than relying solely on given values or rote memorization. The dimensions are integrated naturally: students plan and conduct an investigation (SEP) using a defined closed system model (CCC) to demonstrate that the distribution of thermal energy becomes more uniform, thereby addressing the conservation of energy (DCI).