Eighth grade students in Mrs. Boyle’s class explored kinetic energy and the concepts of expansion and contraction in fluids.

Kinetic energy, is a form of energy that an object or a particle has by reason of its motion. If work, which transfers energy, is done on an object by applying a net force, the object speeds up and thereby gains kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is a property of a moving object or particle and depends not only on its motion but also on its mass. The kind of motion may be translation (or motion along a path from one place to another), rotation about an axis, vibration, or any combination of motions.

Materials expand or contract when subjected to changes in temperature. Most materials expand when they are heated, and contract when they are cooled. When free to deform, concrete will expand or contract due to fluctuations in temperature. In a liquid, expansion occurs when the liquid is heated, the particles move around each other faster, and expand. Also, contraction happens in a liquid. This happens when a liquid is cooled the particles slow down and contract, an example of contraction in aliquid is a thermometer