Insulation Coursework

Nicola Poultney

Insulation Coursework

Aim: To investigate the best methods to use to stop the hot water tank from cooling down quickly.

Prediction: I think that whatever material we use the outcome of the temperatures will be better than the test, which had no insulation. (Test number 7) I think that that a lid on our small copper beaker will help. Overall I think that the rough polystyrene with a lid will be the best.

Plan: Before we carried out the final test we preformed a plan test to see whether our original ideas would make a fair and correct test. We listed our thoughts for the test. Like the constants, inputs and output variables. (As shown below) We tested our thoughts and in the end changed our minds about some things. For our plan experiments we tested the water every 15 seconds for a minute. We found this was too short. In the end we changed this so that we tested the water every minute for ten minutes this was more economical. This then all together left us with seventy results where in the plan we would only of had twenty-eight results.

We decided on testing our experiments by using two different types of polystyrene. A rough and a silky material. We also tried using a lid to see whether the insulation prevents conduction and taps air pockets to keep the water temperature constant. We also considered double insulation.

For each test we planned to use the same equipment like the copper beaker, thermometer, stopwatch and the same amount of water each time (100ml). We wanted the start temperature to be the same for each test, but we knew this was going to prove difficult. So this was to be taken into account once graphs etc had been drawn and results were being compared. In all we were going to carry out seven experiments, six of which to be compared to one.

The Experiments:

For each experiment we collected the equipment as stated in the plan. We filled the copper beaker with boiling water and measured the start temperatures. We then put the beaker into the necessary insulation material. We then recorded the results every minute for ten minutes. This then gave us an idea of whether the materials being tested were a good insulator. Once the test was finished we started the next recording the results as we went along.

Diagram:

Results: