Investigation finding whether sweating increases the rate at which the body cools.

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Investigation finding whether sweating increases the rate at which the body cools

Planning

I am trying to find out if the body cools quicker by sweating skin or dry skin.  My input variable, the factor I am changing, is the moisture of the material wrapping the evaporating water.

Prediction

I predict that the temperature of the wet material will fall twice as fast as the dry material.  This is, if the wet material tube falls 2°c in a minute, the dry will fall 1°c in a minute.

Scientific Reasoning

I believe that the wet tube will reduce temperature quicker because our body has several mechanisms to change our body temperature.  When the thermoreceptors in the blood detect a high temperature, impulses are sent to the effectors in the skin so that the temperature is regulated.  When we are hot, our body has to try to cool down and so sweat is produced and evaporates.  This effectively allows heat to be released easily, cooling the body back to the average temperature of 37°c.

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Method

I am using wet and dry paper towels to imitate dry skin and sweating skin.  I will wrap the paper towels around two test tubes, both of 70°c water.  This will be imitating the fluids in the body.  

Double headed clamp

Test tubes

Thermometers

Paper towels

Stopwatch

Water

The experiment should be carried out carefully using the following procedure:

  • Set up apparatus in a dry, clean space.
  • Prepare two paper towels.  Soak one thoroughly in cold water so it is dripping then wrap it around one ...

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