5.07
Junior Environmental Activities On File TM
Keeping Cold
Experimenting With Ways to Control Energy Loss
INTRODUCTION
Understanding insulation helps us find ways to conserve energy.
Heat energy flows from hotter things to colder things. That’s how
fuel energy—for instance, the fuel used to heat a home—gets
wasted: It flows from the warm house to the cold out-of-doors.
Insulation is something that slows this process down.
On a cold winter night, insulation keeps heat from flowing out of
a thermos of hot chocolate. On a warm day, the thermos’s
insulation keeps heat from flowing into the bottle and warming
up cold lemonade. The thermos is a good insulator because tiny
pockets of still air are trapped inside it. Other good insulators are
foam, fur, feathers, and dry leaves—each of them can hold
pockets of air. Think about the way that birds fluff up their
feathers on a cold winter’s day—they are putting air in among
their feathers. The thick fur coats that many mammals have in
winter do the same.
In this activity, you can use those insulators or others. Your goal:
Try to insulate an ice cube to keep it from melting. You want your
ice cube to stay as cold and as large as possible for one hour.
TIME NEEDED
15 minutes to set up
60 minutes for the experiment
©Victoria Chapman & Associates, Inc.
5.07
Junior Environmental Activities On File TM
WHAT YOU NEED
• 2 same-size ice cubes (in winter,
try using snowballs)
• insulating materials such as:
puffed cereal, popped corn, yarn
or wool scraps, dry leaves, feathers
or down, wadded-up newspaper,
egg cartons, “bubble-pack” plastic
shipping material, used plastic
bags, paper, pieces of foam, etc.
• tape
• small box (if building more than
one insulator, have identical boxes
such as shoe boxes)
• saucer or small bowl
• kitchen timer or watch
• ruler or (to weigh cubes rather
than measure them) kitchen scale
• Earth Journal (Activity 1.01),
notebook, or notepaper
• pen or pencil
Safety Precautions
Please click on the checkmark to view the safety guidelines.
WHAT YOU DO
1. Gather the insulating materials.
2. Use the box and the insulating materials to design an insulator
that will keep an ice cube (or snowball) as big as possible for
one hour at room temperature. In your Earth Journal or
notebook, or on notepaper, record what you did and what
materials you used to build your insulator.
3. Quickly measure three sides of your cubes. (Or, if you have a
kitchen scale available, weigh them.) Then sketch your two ice
cubes in the Earth Journal, making sure the drawings are the
same size as your ice cubes.
4. Place one ice cube in the insulator and the other on a plate
next to it.
5. Wait one hour. While you are waiting, draw a picture of your
insulator in your Earth Journal.
6. After one hour, take out the ice cubes, and quickly sketch
both ice cubes in the Earth Journal. Make sure the drawings
are the same size as your ice cubes are now.
OBSERVATIONS & CONCLUSIONS
1. What differences did you observe between the two ice cubes?
Did insulation help keep one ice cube from melting?
2. If others did the same experiment with different materials,
compare your results. What differences did you observe?
Conclusions, based on observation:
©Victoria Chapman & Associates, Inc.
5.07
Junior Environmental Activities On File TM
a. Name six materials you haven’t yet tested that you think might
make good insulators.
b. What makes you think these materials would insulate well? Try
to answer based on the evidence of your observations.
OUR FINDINGS
Click on the above link to see what we found.
Follow-Up
Repeat the experiment using different materials to see which are
the best insulators. Have a contest with your friends. See who can
build an insulator that keeps the ice cube the longest.
Words to Know
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©Victoria Chapman & Associates, Inc.
SAFETY
Junior Environmental Activities On File TM
Safe Science Procedures
IMPORTANT: It is both fun and educational
to learn science by doing science—but
experiments and field trips are no fun
if you get hurt. Read and follow
the safety tips on this page and the next.
Then copy these two pages.
• Post them in your science activity area.
• Keep them in your science journal or log.
Smart scientists are safe scientists.
Special Safety Note to Experimenters
Each experiment includes a short list of special safety precautions
that are relevant to that particular project. However, these do not
include all of the basic safety precautions that are necessary
whenever you are working on a scientific experiment. For this
reason, it is absolutely necessary that you read, copy, and remain
mindful of the General Safety Precautions that follow this note.
Good experimental procedure always includes carefully following
basic safety rules. Things can happen very quickly while you are
performing an experiment. Things can spill, break, even catch
fire. There will be no time after the fact to protect yourself.
Always prepare for unexpected dangers by following basic safety
guidelines the entire time you are performing the experiment,
whether or not something seems dangerous to you at a given
moment.
We assume you will read the safety precautions that follow, as
well as the ones that appear with each activity and that you will
remember them and follow the recommendations. You must use
good judgment and pay attention when you are doing your
experiment.
If you have any questions about whether or not a procedure or
material is dangerous, wait until you find out for sure that it is
safe.
©Victoria Chapman & Associates, Inc.
SAFETY
Junior Environmental Activities On File TM
Safe Science Procedures (continued)
BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
• Read the entire experiment before you begin.
• Clear a workspace.
Protect yourself:
• Follow the directions, step-by-step.
• Make sure you know where there is a first-aid kit and eyewash.
• Concentrate on what you are doing; do not roughhouse.
• Wear something to protect your clothes, like a smock or apron.
• Clean up spills immediately.
• Tie back your hair; do not wear loose clothing or open-toed shoes.
• Keep your workspace neat and dry.
• Do not eat or drink in your workspace.
• Do not light matches.
• Do not eat or drink any experimental substances without express
permission from a responsible adult.
• Wear goggles or protective eyewear when working with sand, etc.
USE EQUIPMENT WITH CARE
• Use caution when working with
scissors, knives, or other sharp objects.
• Set up your experiments far away from the edge of your
work surface as practicable.
• Use care when working with glass.
• Clean up broken glass immediately.
• Be careful when using stepstools, chairs, or ladders.
GOING ON FIELD TRIPS
• Never go on a field trip by yourself; use the buddy system.
• Tell a responsible adult where you are going.
• Know where you are going and gather information about any
danger, such as poisonous plants, that may be present there.
• Dress appropriately for the weather (rain, sun, etc.).
• Bring along a first aid kit.
• Never eat or drink anything you find in the wild.
FINISHING UP
• Thoroughly clean your work area and equipment.
• Don’t dispose of materials down the sink, unless you are told to do
so by a responsible adult.
• Wash your hands.
©Victoria Chapman & Associates, Inc.
SAFETY
Junior Environmental Activities On File TM
Animals & Plants to Look Out For
SCORPION
FIRE ANT
AFRICAN BEE
BLACK WIDOW
BROWN RECLUSE
POISON IVY
©Victoria Chapman & Associates, Inc.
POISON SUMAC
POISON OAK
(COPY & PASTE IN
YOUR FIELD LOG)