P1- Thermal insulation

• Thermometer


  Piece of apparatus used to measure temperature
• Materials with insulation properties that can be tested using this method

  • Newspaper
  • Corrugated cardboard
  • Bubble wrap
  • Polystyrene
  • Cotton wool
  • Tin foil
• How to secure the materials once wrapped around the beaker

  Using rubber bands
• Why do you leave one beaker with no insulation wrapped around it
• As well as wrapping the beaker with the insulation, what else should you do to insulate it


  Cut out a circle for the lid of the beaker to reduce heat loss from the top. The lid should have a small hole for the thermometer to fit into.
• What readings do you take and how frequently

  You record the temperature of the water in fixed intervals of around 3 minutes.
• How can you compare the effectiveness of the different insulators

  Compare the temperature change that has occurred over a fixed interval of time. The smaller the temperature change, the more effective the insulator is.
• As well as the effectiveness of different types of insulators, what else can you test using this method
• What safety precautions should be taken when carrying out this experiment

  • Avoid touching the beaker after heating
  • Place on a heatproof mat when hot
  • Take care when pouring boiling water to avoid scolding
  • If a beaker cracks, avoid using it and inform a technician
• Equipment


  • Five 100cm³ beakers
  • Five 250cm³ beakers
  • Five thermometers
  • Kettle (to heat water)
  • Piece of cardboard
  • Scissors
  • Stopwatch
  • Insulating materials (e.g. newspaper, bubble wrap, polystyrene, cotton wool)
  • Rubber bands
  • Heatproof mat
• Method 1 - Testing Different Types of Materials

  1. Set up equipment, wrapping four of the five beakers with a different insulating material

  2. The beaker with no insulation wrapped around it is the control beaker

  3. Cut circles of cardboard (larger than the mouth of the beaker) to form lids for each beaker

  4. Fill each beaker with warm water from the kettle and record the initial temperature of each

  5. Start the stopwatch and measure the temperature of the beakers every 3 minutes

  6. Calculate the change in temperature for each beaker (initial temperature - final temperature)
• Method 2 - Testing Different Thicknesses of Insulator

  1. Wrap five beakers in varying thicknesses of one insulating material e.g. wrap each beaker in newspaper using one more sheet per beaker

  2. Fill each beaker with warm water, record the initial temperature and cover each beaker with paper lids

  3. Repeat the experiment as before, measuring the temperature every 3 minutes

  4. Record results and calculate the change in temperature for each beaker (initial temperature - final temperature)
• Blank Table of Results