required practicals paper 1 thermal insulation

• What is the initial aim of the experiment described?

  Comparing the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators
• What are the first steps in investigating the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators?

  • Place a small beaker inside a larger beaker.
  • Use a kettle to boil some water.
  • Transfer 80 cm cubed of the hot water into the small beaker.
  • Use a piece of cardboard as a lid for the large beaker with a hole for a thermometer.
• What volume of hot water should be transferred into the small beaker?

  80 cm cubed
• What must be inside the hot water during the experiment?

  The bulb of the thermometer
• What should the cardboard lid have a hole for?

  A thermometer
• How often should the temperature of the water be recorded?

  Every 3 minutes
• For how long should the temperature of the water be recorded?

  15 minutes
• What is done differently in the repeated experiment?

  An insulating material fills the gap between the beakers
• What type of variable is the type of insulating material?

  Independent variable
• What must be kept the same for each insulating material tested?

  The mass of the insulating material
• What is the independent variable in this experiment?

  The type of insulating material
• What type of variable is the temperature?

  Dependent variable
• What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

  Temperature
• What are the control variables in this experiment?

  • The volume of water
  • The mass of insulating material
  • The starting temperature of the water
• What should be plotted from the results of these experiments?

  Cooling curves for the different insulators
• Which insulating material will cause the water to cool down the slowest?

  The most effective insulating material
• What does the second experiment investigate?

  How the thickness of a material affects thermal insulation
• What is wrapped around the beaker in the second experiment?

  Layers of newspaper
• How many layers of newspaper are used in the second experiment?

  Two, four, and six layers
• What is the independent variable in the second experiment?

  The number of layers of newspaper
• What are the control variables in the second experiment?

  The starting temperature and volume of water
• How does increasing the layers of newspaper affect the cooling rate?

  The water cools down more slowly
• Why does increasing the layers of newspaper slow down the cooling rate?

  More layers are a more effective thermal insulator