Keeping cool

In your book, Our Wondrous World (Chapter 4), the class wonders why some rooms feel warmer than others. What keeps a room cool?

Trees that give shade help. So do classrooms with windows where the breeze can come in.

The colour of the roof matters too. A white roof keeps cool because white reflects the Sun's heat, sending it away. A black surface absorbs heat, soaking it in.

Your book's activity shows this. Paint one tile black and one tile white, and keep both under the Sun. After a while, touch them. The white tile feels cooler, and the black tile feels hotter. So painting a roof white can help keep the building below it cooler.