Thermal Wilds

Atmospheric Telemetry

Basalt Ground: 44.0°C

Forest Canopy: 25.1°C

Vertical Lift: +5.8 m/s

Glide Heart Rate: 82 bpm (vs 390 flapping)

Discussion Question: Why does the thermal column collapse and stop lifting birds at sundown?

Field Stimuli Reference: Page 1 Evidence Focus: Convection & Density

Stimulus 3 Antarctic Polar Ice Shelf

The Polar Huddle: Antarctic Survival

Convection Shield

Packing at 10 birds/m² blocks 120 km/h wind from stripping warm boundary air.

Radiation Trapping

Infrared body heat emitted by each bird is reabsorbed by neighboring plumage instead of lost to space.

Key Outcome: Huddle center reaches +37.5°C despite -42°C blizzard, cutting fat burn from 1.8 kg/wk to 0.7 kg/wk.

Antarctic Telemetry

Blizzard Air: -42.0°C

Katabatic Wind: 120 km/h

Huddle Core: +37.5°C

Thermal Gap: 77°C difference

Discussion Question: Why must penguins on the outside perimeter rotate continuously inward?

Field Stimuli Reference: Page 2 Evidence Focus: Convection Reduction & Thermal Trapping

Concept Check Classroom Multiple-Choice Checkpoint

Test Your Heat Transfer Knowledge

Question 1

Why does the lizard warm drastically faster while flattened against the rock than in the air?

A. Air particles vibrate faster than solid rock lattice atoms

B. Direct particle contact enables rapid conductive transfer

C. Lizard skin reflects thermal radiation back to the sun

Question 2

What microscopic principle explains why the air parcel above basalt lifts eagles upward?

A. Heated gas molecules expand, lowering fluid density

B. Air molecules freeze together into a heavy solid elevator

C. Solar radiation pushes air downward into underground caves

Turn and talk with your partner before voting Stimuli Reference: Page 2 Questions

Scientific Communication Building Strong Scientific Arguments

Constructing Your CER Argument

Step 1

Claim

A direct, 1-sentence statement that answers the investigation question.

Standard: Name the exact heat transfer mechanism and biological outcome.

Step 2

Evidence

Concrete data, temperatures, velocities, and physical observations from the stimuli.

Standard: Cite at least TWO specific data points (numbers, units, behaviors).

Step 3

Reasoning

The scientific physics principles that connect your evidence to your claim.

Standard: Explain particle kinetic collisions, fluid density, or EM waves.

Pro Tip: Avoid vague phrases like "it gets hot." Use precise terms: kinetic energy, buoyant density, and thermal radiation.

Independent Writing Task Complete Page 3 of Your Field Stimuli Sheet

Your Mission: Write Your CER

Claim Starters:

"The organism/system utilizes [conduction / convection / radiation] to transfer thermal energy by..."

Evidence Starters:

"According to field telemetry data, the temperature changed from... Specifically, the text records [data point with units]..."

Reasoning Starters:

"This evidence proves the claim because at the microscopic level, particles... Since warm fluids are less dense / since physical contact enables collision..."

Self-check your work with the rubric on Page 3 Target Pacing: 15–20 minutes

"Cold flows inside": Thermal energy only moves one way—from higher to lower temperature. Cold is not a substance.

"Radiation requires air": Solar radiation travels through 150 million km of vacuum with zero particles.

Thermal Wilds • Teacher Instructional Guide Page 1 of 2 (Turn for Scoring Rubric & Exemplars)

Assessment & Evaluation

CER Scoring Rubric & Model Exemplars

Total: 12 Points

Model Exemplars from the Stimuli Set

Exemplar 1: Desert Basker (Conduction & Radiation)

[Claim] The desert iguana uses radiation from the sun to heat quartz rock and conduction through direct belly contact to raise its core body temperature for survival. [Evidence] Telemetry reveals solar radiation provides 920 W/m² of flux, warming the rock to 46.2°C while air is only 16.5°C. When pressing its ventral skin flat against the stone, the lizard's internal core rises from 17.8°C to 38.6°C in 24 minutes. [Reasoning] Electromagnetic infrared waves from the sun travel across space without particles and are absorbed by mineral atoms. When the lizard presses against the rock, the rapidly vibrating particles in the hot solid collide directly with skin cells. These microscopic particle collisions transfer kinetic energy into the bloodstream via conduction, warming the animal far faster than the surrounding cold air.

Exemplar 2: Sky Highway (Atmospheric Convection)

[Claim] Raptors exploit thermal convection columns created by uneven ground heating to gain soaring altitude without expending metabolic flight energy. [Evidence] Basalt cliffs reach 44.0°C compared to 25.1°C forest canopy. Air resting on the rock heats, its density drops to 1.15 kg/m³, and a vertical updraft ascends at +5.8 m/s, lifting birds 2,500 meters while keeping heart rate at 82 bpm compared to 390 bpm during flapping flight. [Reasoning] When air molecules touching the ground heat up, they move faster and spread farther apart, reducing local fluid density. The denser, cooler surrounding air sinks and exerts buoyant upward force on the warm air pocket, creating a vertical convection current. By entering this moving fluid column, birds utilize the fluid’s kinetic upward thrust to glide.

Exemplar 3: Polar Huddle (Convection Shielding & Radiation)

[Claim] Emperor penguins form tightly packed social huddles to drastically reduce convective wind chill and trap emitted thermal radiation. [Evidence] Outside blizzard winds reach 120 km/h with an air temperature of -42°C, but the huddle center maintains +37.5°C (a 77°C difference). Huddling cuts weekly fat reserve consumption from 1.8 kg down to 0.7 kg. [Reasoning] High-speed gale winds normally remove the warm insulating boundary layer of air around solitary feathers through forced convection. High packing density (10 birds/m²) forms an aerodynamic barrier that stops fluid circulation. Additionally, infrared electromagnetic radiation emitted by one bird’s warm body is absorbed by adjacent feathered neighbors rather than escaping into cold celestial space.

Thermal Wilds • Teacher Instructional Guide Page 2 of 2 • End of Guide

[REASONING] This evidence supports the claim because thermal energy always flows from hotter matter to cooler matter. Rapidly vibrating atoms in the dense rock directly collide with the lizard's ventral skin cells. These physical collisions transfer kinetic energy into its blood vessels via conduction much faster than through cool air.

Thermal Wilds • Science Reference & Discourse Tools Page 1 of 2 (Flip for Guided Fill-in CER Template)

Guided Practice

Scaffolded CER Writing Template

Sentence Frames & Structured Word Bank

Select Your Target Phenomenon:

Lizard (Basker) Eagles (Updrafts) Penguins (Huddle)

Word Bank: conduction convection radiation kinetic energy density particles

1 Guided Claim Statement Fill in blanks to construct your claim.

The uses the thermal mechanism of to transfer thermal energy so that it can .

2 Guided Field Evidence (Cite 2 Specific Measurements / Observations) Include numbers, temperatures (°C), or velocities.

Evidence Point 1 (Temperature or Measurement): According to the field stimulus, the data shows that the temperature / measurement of was , while the surrounding environment was .

Evidence Point 2 (Physical Change or Behavior): Furthermore, the text observes that when , the result was .

3 Guided Scientific Reasoning (Connecting Physics Principles to Evidence) Explain particle collisions, fluid density, or radiant waves.

This evidence proves my claim because thermal energy always naturally moves from to .

At the microscopic particle level, because this process is , the particles .

As a result,

Partner Read-Aloud Check: Read your completed sentences aloud to a classmate before submitting.

Peer Verified

Thermal Wilds • Scientific Argumentation Practice Page 2 of 2 • End of Handout