Required Practical Activity 2

Question 1

Method to compare the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators:

Answer 1

1. First place a small beaker inside a larger beaker
2. Use a kettle to boil some water
3. Transfer 80cm3 of hot water into the small beaker
4. Use a piece of cardboard as a lid for the large beaker - lid must have a hole for the thermometer
5. Place a thermometer through the hole of the cardboard lid - bulb of the thermometer must be in the hot water
6. Measure the starting temperature of the water using the thermometer and start the stopwatch
7. Measure the temperature of the water every 3 minutes for 15 minutes using the thermometer
8. Repeat the experiment using the same volume of hot water however this time use an insulating material and place it inside the larger beaker to fill the gap between the two beakers
9. Repeat the experiment using a range of different insulating materials - use same mass of insulating material in each case
10. Record results in a table
11. Plot cooling curve

Question 2

Diagram for investigating the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators

Answer 2

Question 3

Independent variable when investigating the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators:

Answer 3

the type of insulating material used

Question 4

Dependent variable when investigating the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators:

Answer 4

the temperature

Question 5

Control variables when investigating the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators:

Answer 5

• volume of water
• mass of insulating material
• equipment used (exc. insulating material)
• starting temp of water

Question 6

How to interpret cooling curve when investigating the effectiveness of different materials as thermal insulators:

Answer 6

water will cool down most slowly with most effective insulating material

Question 7

Method to investigate how thickness of material affects thermal insulation:

Answer 7

1. Beaker containing 80cm3 of hot water
2. Measure temp of water every 3mins for 15mins
3. Repeat the experiment but wrap 2 layers of newspaper around beaker
4. Repeat experiment 2 more times using 4 layers then 6 layers of newspaper

Question 8

Diagram for investigation on how thickness of material affects thermal insulation:

Answer 8

Question 9

Results to investigate how thickness of material affects thermal insulation:

Answer 9

more layers is a more effective thermal insulator than fewer layers