(P) Effectiveness of Materials as Thermal Insulators

• 1. Boil water in a kettle. Pour some of the water into a sealable container (e.g. a beaker and a lid) to a safe level. Measure the mass of the water in the container
• 2. Use a thermometer to measure the initial temperature of the water
• 3. Seal the container and leave it for 5 minutes. Measure this time using a stop watch
• 4. Remove the lid and measure the final temperature of the water
• 5. Pour away the water and allow the container to cool to room temperature
• 6. Repeate this experiment, but wrap the container in a different material (e.g. foil, newspaper) once it has been sealed. Make sure you use the same mass of water at the same initial temperature each time
• 7. The lower the temperature difference (energy transferred) the better that material is as a thermal insulator. You should find materials like bubble wrap or cotton wool are good thermal insulator
• 8. You could also invertigate how the thickness of the material affects how good a thermal insulator it is. You should find that the thicker the insulating layer, the smaller the temperature change of the water, and so less energy is transferred. This means that thick layers make better thermal insulators