What factors affect heat loss?

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Ritatsu Thomas

What factors affect heat loss?

PROBLEM

I have been asked to investigate the link between colour and heat loss. Does the silver or the black cup lose its heat faster?

HYPOTHESIS

I think that the black cup will lose heat faster then the silver cup.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

CONVECTION 

The hot water in both cups will have convection current in them. The hot water will rise and sink as the water begins to cool. This means the heat energy is being passed on to the metal cup over most of its inner surface.

CONDUCTION 

The metal cups will get hotter as a result of the heat energy inside the cup. The water will pass on this heat energy due to the fact that metal is a good conductor of heat. The heat energy will be conducted throughout the metal cup to the outer surface where it will be transferred to the air around the cup as radiation.

RADIATION 

Hot objects (i.e. the metal cup) emit mainly Infrared radiation, and the hotter the object the more radiation it will emit. How much radiation the object emits will depend on the surface. The black cup had a dark matt surface and therefore will emit more radiation. This will mean that the black cup will lose more infrared radiation than the silver cup (which is a poor emitter of infra-red radiation) and as a result it will lose its heat quicker than the silver cup over the same amount of time. 

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EQUIPMENT

  • Thermometer
  • Metal cups (silver and black)
  • Timer
  • Hot water

METHOD

  • The equipment was set up as in the diagram.
  • We put boiling water into each cup and put the lid back on.
  • We then recorded the temperature every 5 minutes. 

SAFETY

  • Be careful of the boiling water.
  • Wear goggles for protection.

FAIRTEST

To make it a fair test we timed the same amount of time and hot water for both cups and we ...

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