RP2: Thermal Insulation

Question 1

What is the aim of the experiment?

Answer 1

• to investigate the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators
• to investigate the factors that may effect the thermal insulation properties of a material

Question 2

How would you test the effectiveness of different types of materials?

Answer 2

1) use kettle to boil water and add 80cm³ to a 100cm³ beaker
2) place the 100cm³ beaker inside the large beaker
3) use a piece of cardboard, with a hole for the thermometer, as a lid for the large beaker
4) insert thermometer through hole in cardboard list so that its bulb is in hot water
5) record temperature of water and start stopwatch
6) record temperature of water every 5 minutes for 20 minutes
7) repeat steps 1 to 6, but this time fill the space between the small and large beaker with an insulating material. ensure that you control the volume of water

Question 3

How would you draw out the results on a graph? (type)

Answer 3

1) draw cooling curve graphs by plotting temperature against time for each insulator
2) from your graphs, determine which material is the best insulator
3) record results in table
4) plot a cooling curve for each type of material used

Question 4

How would you test the effectiveness of different thicknesses of insulator?

Answer 4

1) use kettle to boil water and put 200cm³ into a 250cm³ beaker
2) use piece of cardboard, with hole for thermometer, as a lid for the beaker
3) insert thermometer through hole in cardboard lid so that its bulb is in hot water
4) record temperature of water and start stopwatch
5) record temperature of water every 5 minutes for 20 minutes
6) repeat steps 1 to 5, but insulate beaker by wrapping one or more layers of insulating material around beaker. insulating material may be held in place by using rubber bands. control volume of water

Question 5

How would you draw out these results on the graph (thickness)?

Answer 5

1) draw cooling curve graphs by plotting temperature against time for each number of different layers of insulation
2) from your graphs write a conclusion about the effect of changing the number of layers of insulation
3) record results in a table
4) plot a cooling curve for each type of material used

Question 6

List the variables for testing different types of materials

Answer 6

IV: type of insulating material
DV: temperature change
CV: volume of water, initial temperature of water, material of lid used, mass of material used, thickness of material

Question 7

List the variables for testing different layers of materials

Answer 7

IV: number of layers of insulating material
DV: temperature change
CV: type of material, volume of water, initial temperature of water, material of lid used

Question 8

List some safety precautions

Answer 8

• Don’t handle the beakers whilst or after heating
• Keep the beakers on a heatproof mat
• Take care handling glass - if the beaker appears cracked don’t use it, if breaks, inform adult

Question 9

Give examples of materials with insulation properties that can be tested using this method

Answer 9

• Newspaper
• Corrugated cardboard
• Bubble wrap
• Tinfoil
• Cotton wool
• Bubble wrap

Question 10

How can you score the materials once wrapped around the beaker?

Answer 10

• using rubber bands

Question 11

Why do you leave on beaker with no insulation wrapped around it?

Answer 11

• to act as a control beaker - used to compare the temp drop of the water with and without insulation

Question 12

As well as wrapping the beaker with insulation, what else should you do to insulate it?

Answer 12

• Cut out a circle for the lid of the beaker to reduce heat loss from the top
• Lid should have a small hole for themometer

Question 13

How can you compare the effectiveness of different insulators?

Answer 13

• Compare the temp change that has occurred over a fixed interval of time
• Smaller the temp change, more effective the insulation is