Lesson 3: Thermal Conductors & Insulators Overview Students will test how thermal energy transfers between different materials and record observations in their journal. After determining which materials conduct or insulate thermal energy, they will use similar materials to design their own insulated cup. Objectives Sci 4.6(B) Sci 5.5(A) Sci 4.3/5.3 (C) differentiate between conductors and insulators of thermal and electrical energy classify matter based on measurable, testable, and observable physical properties, including mass, magnetism, physical state (solid, liquid, and gas), relative density (sinking and floating using water as a reference point), solubility in water, and the ability to conduct or insulate thermal energy or electric energy connect grade-level appropriate science concepts with the history of science, science careers, and contributions of scientists Next Generation Science Standards M aterials Explore Per Group of 3-4 girls • 1 Hot Pack • 1 Cold Pack • 1 Aluminum Foil Cup (made from 12”x12” aluminum foil sheets) • 1 Stainless Steel Cup • 1 12oz Paper Cup • 1 16oz Styrofoam (will be reused in lesson 7) • 1 16oz Plastic Cup • 1 9oz Plastic Cup (will be reused in lesson 7) • 1 Mason Jar Elaborate Per Group of 3-4 girls • Handful of Styrofoam pellets • 10 tooth picks • 3 Pieces of Tissue Paper • 10 Cotton Balls • 1 Piece of 12x12 Aluminum Foil • 1 Piece of 12x12 Bubble Wrap • 5 Pipe Cleaners • Stickers (for decoration) Supplements • New Product Introduction Engineer Poster • Insulated Tumbler Poster 1 Lesson 3: Thermal Conductors & Insulators Preparation • Create aluminum foil cups by wrapping a layer of foil around the stainless steel cup to mold the shape. Right before club starts, activate the hot/cold packs. • About 30 Minutes before club, open the hot warmers and shake them. It will take about 30 minutes for them to get hot enough for the lesson. Career New Product Introduction Engineers are responsible for the quality control of new products. NPI Engineers work in the design, development, production, and testing of new products to ensure they are safe and maintain a high quality for customers. Vocabulary Need to Know W ords Conductors – Materials that allow the flow of energy Should Already Know Nice to Know Thermal Energy – Energy that comes from heat Insulators – Materials that stop the flow of energy Engage – 5 Minutes When you go to different events and restaurants, you get different types of cups. W hat are som e examples of cups you use? Paper, Styrofoam, plastic, glass, metal. Do you usually get the sam e type of cup for a hot drink as you do for a cold drink? Often cold drinks are in plastic/paper cups while hot drinks are in Styrofoam cups. W hy do you think there are different types of cups? Some drinks need to keep their temperature longer. Today we are going to explore the different materials that are used to make cups. W hat are som e characteristics you would like in your ideal cup? Doesn’t sweat (have condensation), keeps drinks cold/hot, has a spot for a straw, has a handle, etc. Explore – 20 Minutes We are going to start by testing various materials to see how much you can feel the temperature through the cup. Give each group the 7 cups, a hot pack, and a cold pack. Let them put the hot pack in one cup and the cold pack in a different cup. Have it sit for about 30-60 seconds. When testing the metal cup, put it on it’s side and have the hot/ cold pack rest on the inside edge. Ask them to carefully touch the outside of the cup. Record in their journals how the cup felt. Repeat this until they have tested the hot and cold packs in every cup. Explain – 10 Minutes Did all of the m aterials react the sam e to the tem perature? No, you can feel the temperature through the metal cups, but not through the Styrofoam. The hot or cold you feel is a type of energy, does anyone know what type? Thermal. Just like all types of energy, thermal energy can travel. If has a few different ways to travel, but the main one is through touch. The hot or cold particles that make up the hot/cold pack travel from the pack to the cup then to your hand. However, not all of the cups let the thermal energy flow. When materials stop the flow of energy, they are called insulators. When materials allow the flow of energy, they are called conductors. Using 2 Lesson 3: Thermal Conductors & Insulators the data you collected, we are going make a chart of which materials we feel are conductors and which are insulators. Draw a T Chart on your board or poster. Label one side conductors and one side insulators. Explain that conductors are when you felt the temperature through the cup. Insulators are when you were not able to feel them temperature. Using the data the girls collected, have them tell you which cups go in which column. Conductors: Aluminum, stainless steel, and plastic. Insulators: Styrofoam, paper and glass. W hich of these materials were the strongest conductors? (Felt the tem perature the M OST)? Metal materials W hich of these materials were the strongest insulators? (Did not feel the tem perature at all)? Styrofoam Elaborate – 15 Minutes Show a picture of a Yeti type tumbler. If m etal is a good conductor of therm al energy, why do you think Yeti’s are m ade of m etal? So they can be dropped without breaking. Are Yeti’s insulators or conductors of therm al energy? Insulators, you can’t feel the temperature through them. They keep drinks the same temperature for very long periods of time. W hy do you think Yeti’s are insulators even though they are m ade of m etal and we learned that m etal is a conductor of heat? There are layers! Show the picture of the cross section of a Yeti. Explain that a Yeti is made of 2 different steel cups. Between the two cups is a vacuum, meaning all of the air particles have taken out between the two cups. Remember, thermal energy travels through touch. The only spot the inside cup and the outside cup touch is at the top and it’s too small for all the thermal energy to travel through. Today we are going to use materials to make our own thermal insulated cups. Just like the Yeti, you will have 2 cups and materials that you can put between your cups. Your challenge is to use these materials to make a cup that is completely insulated, meaning you can not feel the hot or cold from the pack. First, as a team, decide which of the 2 cups you will use and what other materials will be needed. After you have designed a prototype and shown it to the STEM CREW, you can get materials and start to build your cup. Cups are not allowed to be cut, broken, or have holes poked through them. Test the cups and record results in journals. *During clean up, be sure groups separate the materials as the Styrofoam and 9oz plastic cups will be reused in future lessons* Evaluate – 5 Minutes Groups will present their cups and explain what materials they used to insulate their cups and why. Discuss what materials they avoided and why. Talk about their engineering design process and changes they made to create a more successful cup. 3 Lesson 3: Thermal Conductors & Insulators NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTION ENGINEER New product introduction engineers are responsible for the quality control of new products. NPI Engineers work in the design, development, production, and testing of new products to ensure they are safe and maintain a high quality for customers. Insulated Tumbler Cross Section of an Insulated Tum bler
