The heat is on!

               Newton’s Amusement Land introduces the types of heat transfer including 

conduction, convection, and radiation. 

    In this experiment I will be using conduction as the pot will be in direct contact with the flame and the water will be heated through touching the heated surface. 

    The heat will escape from my glass because the water it meets air around it and is attempting to reach equilibrium. By creating insulation, the heat can be contained longer due to the “small air spaces” (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2019, p.86). 

The materials used in this experiment include four identical glasses, a tea kettle, four rubber bands, a thermometer, water, and the insulators tinfoil, parchment paper, snack bag, and a washcloth. 

    Animals in colder habitats are designed to retain heat by having a thick layer of blubber. I predict that the washcloth will minimize the heat transfer as it is a thicker material compared to the other items. I think the parchment paper will cause the heat to transfer faster as it will be more difficult to form a good seal with the glass unlike the other clingier materials. 

The results of the experiment were not what I expected. The drop in temperature was very similar for all insulators. There was only a difference of approximately 1 or 2 degrees between any of the readings. The wax did have the lowest reading of slightly less than 90 after 30 minutes. The foil had the highest reading of 92 and the cloth was very close to the foil. At 10 minutes the cloth had a reading of 103 and the foil had a reading between 102 and 103. I would need to repeat this experiment 3 more times to glean a good average of the temperature of each and determine the true best insulator.

               When teaching pre-k, I would conduct a similar experiment with students while exploring climate. While wearing plastic gloves, students would coat their gloves in Crisco and then reach into a bowl of ice water. They would always notice how their hand doesn’t get cold. With just the glove their hand would feel cold. I think that these tactile experiences are important for students to develop reasoning about the world around them. The mug experiment is a very practical way to explore what might make the best insulator when keeping a beverage warm. It has real-world applications while also supporting the development of scientific reasoning. Students should have access to a safe and well-equipped area to make explorations. Love and Roy (2018) describe how critical the safety and organization of a lab or maker space is. Students who are to explore with heated water should have access to appropriate tools for heating water such as a kettle or a warm tap. The temperature should be warm enough to experiment but low enough to prevent scalding. As a teacher, these are just a few of the safety concerns that should be addressed in advance. Additional questions came to my mind as I did this experiment. Will students be using glass mugs? Will the students have access to goggles? By performing the experiment in advance, you have time to reflect on what the students may require to find success while maintaining a safe environment. For students I would use traditional rubber bands instead of the hair rubber bands, I would start with cooler water, and I would use cups that were less fragile. I also had to wait for the water to cool as the thermometer only reads up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. For students, I would heat water to around 110 degrees to reduce the risk of burning.   

     This experiment made me think of my daughter packing her lunches for school. She gets so frustrated when her soup or warm items are cold at lunchtime. We have purchased a wide variety of insulated containers and none of them have yielded a warm meal. I think it might be fun to design an experiment where students design prototypes of insulated containers that would maintain heat over 4 hours to yield a warm lunch. We might explore different materials like the ones we used in this experiment or others as identified by students that might improve the efficiency of their lunch containers.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Love, T. S., & Roy, K. R. (2018). Appropriconverting classrooms to makerspaces or STEM labs: design and safety considerations. Technology & Engineering Teacher, 78(1), 34–36.

Tillery, B. W., Enger, E. D., & Ross, F. C. (2019). Heat and temperature. Integrated science (7th ed.). (pp. 75–99). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Walden University. (2021). Heat Street. Newton’s Amusement Land.

https://cdn-media.waldenu.edu/2dett4d/Walden/SCIE/6661/CH/theme_park/index.html