Heat Absorption
Heat Absorption is how a surface soaks up warmth from the sun or other hot sources.
Two flat trays sit side by side under a lamp. One tray is black, the other is white. After ten minutes, you press your hand to each tray. The black tray feels hot, the white tray stays cool. Dark surfaces soak up more of the lamp's warmth, while light surfaces bounce most of it away.
Explaining heat absorption by grade level
Stand on a dark road on a sunny day. The ground feels very hot on your feet. Now step on a light sidewalk. It feels much cooler. Dark things soak up more heat from the sun than light things do.
Projects that explore heat absorption
Dark materials soak up more warmth from a heat source than light materials do. When equal weights of dark and light hair sit under a heat lamp, the dark hair reaches higher temperatures. The shade of a surface changes how much heat energy it absorbs.
Does the color of a building's walls change the temperature inside? You paint five identical cardboard boxes black, white, grey, red, and green, seal each one, and insert a thermometer through a small hole in the top. All five go into direct sunlight, and you record the temperature inside every ten minutes for one hour. The dark black box heats up the most. The white box stays the coolest.