Robinson,+J.

__ Questions: __ In a Paragraph or more tell the class your Interests, favorite subjects, favorite topics in science, least favorite topics in science, and what you Would Like to Learn This Year.

==// My fellow classmates I'm going to tell you a little about myself and what I like. My interest goes into either the medical field or criminal justice. And my favorite subject is a total tie between language arts, math, and science. It's kind of hard to choose with all the amazing things you learn in each. If I had to choose a favorite in science it would have to be studying the human body and it's illnesses. My least favorite about science would definitely would have to be nothing. Because science is one of my favorite subjects and I practically love everything about it. But definitely one the things I would love to dig deeper in is the human body, and I can't wait until we do!!!!!!! : D //==

**__ My Research Paper on: Thermal Insulation __**
My project will be based upon which material can hold in the more thermal energy at a certain period of time. But before I get to the exciting part I need to my background research. I am going to be researching factors that relate to, or effect thermal insulation. Like radiation, convection, conduction, and other things that fall under thermal insulation.

I’m going to be giving you a couple facts about thermal insulation. Thermal insulation is the process that prevents heat from escaping an object or a substance or you can say it is the reduction of processes causing heat transfer. Thermal insulation occurs in all objects, maybe some more than others. That is why maybe on a cold bitter day your mom might pack you some steaming hot chocolate in your thermos (examples of thermoses blow). There is a certain reason why she put it in the container that she did. The explanation behind that theory is because the typical thermos is made of steel, and it just so happens yours is also. Steel is a good insulator because it does not conduct heat, it insulates as in keeping in the heat. So your delicious hot cocoa stays hot all day! It doesn’t only occur to heat, also on a hot summer day your mom can pack you some iced water and it would stay cold all day.

Conduction, you can almost think of it as the opposite of thermal insulation. Thermal insulation means to keep heat trapped in by. But conduction is when heat is transferred (from atom to atom). The thermos also has a different name, it is also known as the vacuum bottle. People call this bottle by that awkward name because they are comparing it to the vacuum the outer space. As in they both supply no air, at all. And we all know that no air, equals no molecules. When there are no molecules there for conductivity cannot occur.

As I said before, in order for conductivity to occur you need molecules (air). Warmer molecules are more spread out, unlike cooler molecules which are more close together. And when these molecules touch each other depending on each molecules’ temperature, determines whether the molecule will speed up or slow down. Then you take the average of all the movement of the particles going on in that substance. Depending on the results you get, you can determine temperature. Let’s not forget what is causing these molecules to move in the first place, convection currents.

__ *Notice that the molecules in the first picture are more spread out than the molecules in the second picture __

Convection is the transfer of heat through a fluid motion. The particles move accordingly to the temperature. The warmer particles drift to the top as the cooler particles sink. As long as the particles keep moving, the process keeps repeating. As shown in picture below.

There are a lot of things that can be considered bad insulators, but there are even more that could be considered excellent, like wood.

On the other hand, we have metal which is a horrible insulator it can pass heat through in the blink of an eye. Letting that being said I’m going to tell you why. Metal is made up of purified metallic ores. This material allows heat to pass through very easily (it conducts heat very easily). Unlike copper.

Copper is made up of well… copper! But it undergoes several processes until it is 99.9999 officially considered copper percent pure copper. Also along with metal copper is an excellent conductor. Of course the reason being copper is considered a metal itself.

Also some more common materials that are bad insulators, but are excellent conductors are gold, aluminum, iron, and silver. Basically all of the examples that I gave you of materials don’t insulate that well. But they all have something in common; they all get heat then pass it all off to the first thing it comes in contact with.

Wood is considered an excellent insulator, because it conducts barely any heat at all. You want to know the magic behind that; well I’m going to tell you. The reason wood is such a good insulator is because there are little air pockets in wood that doesn’t allow heat to get through so it just stays contained in the wood. Not allow the heat to conduct.

Another good insulator is natural rubber, it is made of sap from the wild rubber tree. The material that it is made from allows the heat to stay trapped inside. And it can also conduct electricity. But so far out of all the materials I think that aluminum can insulate the best. But based on my research I need to pick two more materials. But who knows there could be a better material out there that can change my mind.

__**Hypothesis**__: If I wrap each cup in something different or in one case leave it bare, then the plastic cup wrapped in aluminum foil will insulate the most heat the best. __**Independent variable:**__ The independent variable is the material in which the liquid costist in (the cup that the liquid is in) 1. The liquid 2. The time I give the liquid to insulate 3. The amount of the liquid 4. The size of the cup 5. The degrees it's given in (Celsius or Fahrenheit)
 * __Problem Statement:__ What material insulates the best? Paper cup wrapped in aluminum foil, paper cup, or a syrofoam cup?**
 * __Dependent variable:__** The dependent variable is which material insulates the most heat.
 * __Controlled Variables:__** My controlled variables are listed below...

Problem Statement: Which material insulates the most heat?
 * //__Experiment #1 __//**

Hypothesis: If I change the type of cup used to insulate my liquid then the styrofoam cup will insulate the most heat.

Abstract: The problem was that I needed to find out which material of the cup insulated the most heat. I hypothesized that if I change the cups used to insulate heat then the styrofoam cup will insulate the most heat. I followed the procedures to first boil water to 190 degrees fahrenheit, then pour it into my plastic cup, cover the top with plastic wrap, then stick the thermometer in and let it sit for three (3) minutes, then take the temperature and record the data that was collected. It was concluded that when I investigated with all the types of cups, the styrofoam cup insulated the most heat. My results also supported my data.

Procedures: 1) First I will add water heated at 190 degrees to my plastic cup. 2) Next wrap the top of the cups with plastic wrap, and let it sit for three minutes. 3) Then take the temperature, record the data, and repeat the process for the rest of the other cups.

Materials:
 * Plastic cups
 * Plastic wrap
 * Aluminum Foil
 * Thermometer
 * Water
 * Measuring cup
 * Timer
 * Stove
 * Camera
 * Styrofoam cup

Independent Variable: The independent variable in my experiment is the different types of cups I used.

Dependent Variable: The dependent Variable in my experiment is how much heat gets insulated in each cup.

Controlled Variable: The controlled variable in my experiment is the substance I used to fill my cup with (water).

Constant Variable: The constant variable in my experiment is the amount of liquids used to fill my cup (water), the time I give each liquid to insulate, the water's starting temperature, the type of thermometer I measured each cup with, and the type of degrees the temperature was given in (Fahrenheit).

__//**Table #1:**//__

 * Type of Cups || Trial #1 || Trial #2 || Trial #3 || Avarage ||
 * Styrofoam Cup || 178 F || 180 F || 180 F || 179.3 F ||
 * Plastic Cup || 182 F || 180 F || 182 F || 181.3 F ||
 * Aluminum Foil Cup || 182 F || 182 F || 184 F || 182.6 F ||

Results: The results of my experiment supported my hypothesis, because like I predicted the styrofoam cup insulated the most heat. I investigated which material would insulate the most heat, and the results I collected supported my data. As I hypothesized the styrofoam cup would insulate the most heat, and my hypothesis was correct.

Conclusion: I investigated which material would insulate the most heat, and my results supported my data. As I hypothesized the styrofoam cup would insulate the most heat, my hypothesis was correct.

Application: My experiment can be used in the real world as an example to make a better choice when one wants to keep a certain substance at a certain temperature. Say its a cold day and you want to take a nice hot mug coffee in to the office to keep you warm, you might want to use a styrofoam cup so your coffee can stay hot over a longer period of time compared to a plastic cup.

// __**Experiment #2**:__ //
Problem Statement: Which liquid insulate the most heat?

Hypothesis: If I change the liquid to study which one insulated the most heat I think that the vinegar would would help insulate the most heat.

Abstract: The problem was that I needed to find out which liquid helps insulate the most heat. I hypothesized that if I changed the liquids to see which one helped insulate the most heat I think that the vinegar would help insulate the most heat. I followed the steps to first heat water at 190 degrees Fahrenheit, pour one and a half (1 1/2) cups of water into one of my cups, then I covered the top with plastic wrap and stuck the thermometer in and let it sit for three minutes. Then after three minutes I would record the results and repeat the process twice for that liquid, and proceed to repeat the procedures for the rest of my other liquids. It was concluded that when I investigated with the rest of my liquids that the salt-water helped insulate the most heat. My results did not support my data.

Procedures: 1) First will take one and a half (1 1/2) cups of water and heat it to 190 degrees Fahrenheit 2) Next pour the one and a half (1 1/2) cups of heated water into my cup, then cover the top with plastic wrap, and stick the thermometer in 3) And wit for three minutes and record the results 4) Then repeat the procedures twice 5) Lastly apply the steps above for the rest of the liquids

Materials:
 * Plastic wrap
 * Salt
 * Water
 * Stove
 * Vinegar
 * Measuring Cup
 * Timer
 * Thermometer
 * Salt-water
 * Camera

Independent Variable: The independent variable in my experiment is the liquids I use

Dependent Variable: The dependent variable in my experiment is how much heat that is insulated. (Measured in Fahrenheit)

Controlled Variable: The controlled variable n my experiment is the type of cup that my liquids are stored in. (Plastic Cup)

Constant Variable: The constant variables in my experiment are the amount of liquids I used, the starting temperature, the type of cups I used to let the water insulate, the type of degrees the temperature is given in, and the time I gave each liquid to insulate.

__//**Table #2**//__

 * Type Of Liquid || Trial #1 || Trial #2 || Trial #3 || Average ||
 * Water || 180 F || 180 F || 180 F || 180F ||
 * Salt-water || 180 F || 182 F || 182 F || 181.3 F ||
 * Vinegar || 182 F || 182 F || 182 F || 182 F ||

Results: The results of my experiment did not support my data because I hypothesized that the vinegar would help insulate the most heat, but it turns out that from the data I collected the salt-water helped insulate the most heat.

Conclusion: I investigated which liquid would help insulate the most heat. And from the results I collected did not support my data. I hypothesized that the vinegar would help insulate the most heat, but the salt-water did.

Application: My experiment can be used an example if someone wanted to find out which liquid with stands heat over a long period of time.

__//**Experiment #3**//__
Problem Statement: Which amount of liquid helps insulate the most heat?

Hypothesis: If I change the amount of liquids, then the liquid with the amount of one (1) cup of water will insulate the most heat

Abstract: The problem was that I needed to find out which amount of water insulated the most heat. I hypothesized that the cup with the amount of one (1) cup of water would insulate the most heat. So I followed the steps to first pour water heated at 190 degrees, next I will cover the top with plastic wrap, and stick the thermometer in, then I will wait for three (3) minutes and record the results. After that I will proceed to repeat the process for the rest of the different amount of liquids. It was concluded that I investigated with different amounts of liquids and I hypothesized that the cup with the amount of one (1) cup would insulate the most heat, but actually the cup with the amount of one half cup of water (1/2) insulated the most heat.

Procedures: 1) First, I will pour heated water into each cup. (The amount depending on which cup) 2) Next, I will cover each top of my cups 3) Then, I will wait three minutes and record the results and repeat the process twice 4) After that, I will proceed to repeat the process for the rest of the other cups

Materials:
 * Plastic Wrap
 * Water
 * Measuring cup
 * Stove
 * Timer
 * Camera

Independent Variable: The independent variable in my experiment is the amount of water I used.

Dependent Variable: The dependent variable in my experiment is how much heat gets insulated.

Controlled Variable: The controlled variable in my experiment the substance I used.(water)

Constant Variable: The constant variables in my experiment is the temperature of the liquid I used, the type of cups I used, the type of thermometer I used, the type of liquid I used, and the degrees the liquid is given in (Fahrenheit).

__//**Table #3**//__

 * Amount Of Liquids || Trial #1 || Trial #2 || Trial #3 || Average ||
 * 1 cup || 178 F || 180 F || 180 F || 179.3 F ||
 * 1/2 cup || 174 F || 176 F || 178 F || 176 F ||
 * 1 1/2 cup || 182 F || 184 F || 180 F || 182 F ||

Results: The results of my experiment did not support my data, because I hypothesized that the cup with one (1) cup of water would insulate the most heat. But it tuned out that the cup with an amount of one half (1/2) cup of water insulated the most heat.

Conclusion: I investigated which amount of water insulated the most heat and from the results I collected my hypothesis was proven wrong. I hypothesized that the cup with an amount of one (1) cup of water would insulate the most heat, but my studies show that the cup with one half (1/2) cup of water insulated the most heat.

Application: My experiment can come in handy to someone who wants to know if there is a maximum capacity of how much liquid that can be held in a substance so that he heat can stay trapped in longer. My experiment can answer that question.