The thermal insulation practical in full: the variables, a method you could follow, the results table, cooling curves, the energy the water loses, and the hazards.
What you will learn
- Name the variables when the material, the number of layers or the thickness is changed
- Write a 6-mark method for the practical
- Compare insulators by temperature drop and rate of cooling
- Calculate the energy lost by the water with ΔE = mcΔθ
What you are finding out
The question is how well a material slows the transfer of energy from hot water to the room.
You can change one of three things: the material, the number of layers, or the thickness.
- investigation: which material is the best thermal insulator?
- independent: the type of material
- dependent: the temperature drop of the water in a set time
- control: the volume of water, the starting temperature, the beaker, the lid, the time
A beaker with no insulation gives you something to compare with.
The rest of this lesson and its 8 practice questions are locked.
In this lesson
- What you are finding out
- The method
- Making sense of the results
- Try it: Why each step?
8 practice questions, marked as you go; about 20 minutes in all.
Key terms
Material, Number of layers, Thickness, Drops
In this unit: Energy stores, transfers and efficiency
Energy stores and how energy moves between them, kinetic and potential energy, specific heat capacity, power, efficiency and the energy resources that make our electricity.