Insulation practical

• Equipment required:

  • Beaker
  • Water
  • Thermometer
  • Material for insulation
  • Cardboard lid 
  • Stopwatch 
  • Kettle 
  • Goggles 
  • Water 
  • Different insulating materials 
  • Measuring cylinder

  
• Independent variable:

  • Number of layers of insulating material
  • type of insulation 

  Dependent variable:

  • Temperature change of water

  Control variables:

  • Amount of water in each beaker
  • starting temperature of the water in each beaker
  • area of beaker
  • timer interval

  
• Insulating a hot object reduces the rate of heat loss to the surroundings.

  • In the practical, insulate a container using an insulating material & record the temperature over time.
  • Then vary the number of insulation layers to determine the relationship between insulation thickness & energy transfer.

  
• The purpose of the cardboard lid in this experiment is to insulate the beaker and to hold the thermometer.
• • It's important to repeat the experiment to ensure accuracy & consistency of results. 
  • It's important that the starting temperature is the same each time the experiment is repeated.
  • As the rate of cooling depends on temperature.

  
• Method for insulation practical:

  1. Wrap different types of insulating materials around 250ml beakers.
  2. Use a kettle to boil water
  3. Add 1000m^3 of hot water in beaker.
  4. Cover with lid & add thermometer.
  5. Let temp. reach its maximum point, then note the initial temp.
  6. Record the temp, after every 5 mins for 25 mins, by using a stopwatch.

  
• Label the image:

  A) thermometer

  B) lid

  C) small beaker

  D) large beaker

  E) water

  F) insulation

  
• Material 1 is the best insulator, as temp. change is minimum.

  • low thermal conductivity

  
• The experiment trying to measure the rate of heat loss.
• The beaker or can with the most insulation will have the slowest rate of heat loss.