Name:____________________
APES Sustainability--Renewable Resources
SOLAR HOTDOG COOKER
50 points with extra credit possible
YOUR MISSION: To cook a hot dog to the hottest temperature in degrees Fahrenheit using only solar power and a device
of your own design and manufacture using only recycled/reused materials. First second, and third place will receive extra
credit. Consider size, method of heat trapping, shape, color, materials, thickness, textures, etc.
HYPOTHESIS: Write a hypothesis with your team of no more than 3 people, about what kind of solar cooker will best
accomplish your goal:_______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
RULES:
1) No purchased apparatus or materials. You will be immediately disqualified if you use new or purchased material. It
must be reused or recycled, with the exception of glue.
2) All materials must be second use. The only exception is aluminum foil which I will provide. You are welcomed and
encouraged to use a wide variety of materials around the house, but you should not need to go and buy materials for
this activity. Be inventive and creative with the materials at home.
MATERIALS:

household items for building solar cooker as indicated above

thermometers (Fahrenheit)
Notes
 There are many designs for homemade solar cookers available on the internet. However, not all of them are effective
designs. If you would like some resources to help you get started, go to http://solarcooking.org/plans/funnel.htm, or
http://solarcooking.org/

DO NOT eat your hotdog.

Safety reminders:
1) If you are fortunate, parts of your device may become hot.
2) Handle your device with caution.
3) If your device uses materials with sharp edges, handle your device with caution.
4) The sun’s rays can damage vision. Use care so that you are not looking directly at a powerful beam of light that
may be focused by your cooker.
PROCEDURE:
1) Research solar cookers and then agree on a construction design for a solar cooking device to cook a hotdog. Be
sure to design the device so that it can hold the hotdog properly AND not get blown over in the event there are
winds.
2) On a completely clear day you will need to set up your device in a location where it can receive full sunlight for a
minimum of 4 hours (6 hours is best, from 9 am until 3 pm.) If it is windy, but sure to stabilize it or use rocks to
hold it down. We will set up the devices during F period on the last day and leave them until the end of the
academic day.
3) Place one thermometer in the hotdog while setting up. It should be in the center of the hot dog, two inches deep,
poked in through the end..
4) Complete the analysis chart on the next page.
5) Answer the conclusion questions that follow.
6) Draw your cooker design on a separate sheet of paper, clearly labeling the materials used and dimensions 3
points:
7) The Analysis of your cooker is due on Monday May 23rd.
Turn in This Sheet
Name:_________________________
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS 9 points:
Starting Temperature
(degrees)
Maximum Temperature
(degrees)
Temperature Change
(degrees)
1. Compare your cooker effectiveness to other groups? How did it compare?
2. For those that were more effective than yours, if any, what was a major structural difference that you think benefitted
them?
3. If yours was the most effective, what was a major structural difference that you think benefitted you?
CONCLUSION QUESTIONS: 8 points
1. Describe how your hot dog appears. Would you be willing to eat this?
2. Do you think solar cooking is an effective method to heat food? Why or why not?
3. What could you have done to improve your design? Be specific.
4. Why might this way of cooking be considered “environmentally friendly”? (What traditional cooking fuel sources don’t
you use to cook the hotdog, and what are the implications?)
SOLAR COOKER RUBRIC
Structure
Ingenuity of
Cooker
Sound and
complete with
all reused or
recycled
materials
(except glue)
10 points
Very creative
concept based
on logic.
10 points
Temperature Increased in
temperature
Change
throughout the
day
10 points
Extra Credit Highest temp in
class
5 points
Total
Possible
Mostly complete. A
thing or two is
falling apart, off or
out of place on
competition day.
8 points
A train wreck
of a structure
that hardly
stands
6 points
Pretty creative
concept, but lacks
some logic
8 points
Lame with no
ingenuity and
probably copied
directly from
something
online
6 points
No structure, or
used materials
that were store
bought and not
recycled/reused.
0 points
Did not increase in
temperature at all
or when down.
8 points
Second highest
temp in class
4 points
Third highest
temp in class
3 points
/30