Heat as Energy

I know that a good insulator is something that helps trap heat. I always wondered what characteristics an object must possess in order to be a good insulator. I was glad that I could complete this experiment, because I was hoping that I would be able to figure out an answer to that question. I tested the temperature of the water before I started and it started out at 110.4ºF. I used similar sized mugs and filled them up with the same amount of water, so I could eliminate any possible variables. The four items that I chose to use as insulators were, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, a piece of paper, and a cotton cloth napkin. When I placed the materials over the mugs I made sure to put the rubber bands tightly around them, so that the heat would have a harder time escaping out of the sides. Going into the experiment I definitely expected that the aluminum foil would be the best insulator. I am not sure why I thought that, but that was my first instinct. First I took the temperature of the water in the mug that was covered with the paper. The temperature was 95.3ºF. The second mug that I tested was the one covered with aluminum foil. The temperature was 100.3ºF. Next was the mug covered with the cloth napkin. The temperature was 98.5ºF. Lastly I tested the mug with the plastic wrap. The temperature was 98.2ºF. I was not surprised by some of the results that I found after completing this experiment. I expected that the aluminum foil would be the best insulator and it was. However, I did not expect the paper to be the poorest insulator. I thought that it would be the plastic wrap, because it is so thin, but there was not much difference between that and the cloth napkin.
If I were to do this experiment again I would try to use different materials. I wold be interested to use styrofoam, newspaper, and jean material. I think that the styrofoam would be the best insukator, because it has smaller spaces of air molecules. The heat would have a harder time getting through, so the liquid would stay hotter.

Engaging in Guided Inquiry

I chose to answer the question about marbles momentum changing based on surface. I figured that this would be a good way for my 1st/2nd graders to get introduced to guided-inquiry. I expected to find that the marbles would have more momentum on the smoother surfaces, and that is exactly what I found. The more friction the marble encountered the less momentum it had. I think that this experiment would greatly benefit my students. They are young, so they have very little experience with guided-inquiry, because they are not quite to the place where they can receive a question from me and then design and experiment to answer that question (Banchi & Bell, 2008). This would be a nice question to ease them into that process. They would not have to build anything complicated. All they would need to do would be to come up with different surfaces to roll the marble on. There are not that many options for what they could do, and I think that would be helpful to them, because they would not feel so overwhelmed. They might struggle a bit at first, but once they get started I think that they would do great. I feel that I could have them create their own experiment to answer this question. The main thing that I would want them to learn is that they can come up with an experiment on their own.

References
Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science & Children, 46(2), 26–29.