The heat transfer inquiry activity gave me the opportunity to manipulate different variables based on what I thought would be effective heat insulators. The experiment involved predicting which material would function to keep water in a mug hot longer than other materials (Laureate Education Inc., 2010). To choose my materials, I first brainstormed what might or might not be useful as an insulator. Part of this brainstorming involved activating my prior knowledge of heat energy, mainly from my numerous preparations of family meals and what I had used to keep food warm. I also knew from reading the textbook that “heat is a measure of the internal energy that has been absorbed or transferred from one body to another” (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008, p. 83). I predicted that the best insulators would be materials that would absorb the least amount of heat from the water. The four materials that I chose were a thick hand towel, a pair of rubber gloves (so four layers of rubber material), four sheets of paper towels, and four layers of folded aluminum foil. My expectation was that the aluminum foil would act as the best insulator, since whenever I have to wrap up hot food to keep it hot for a period of time, I wrap it in aluminum foil. My eleven-year-old son predicted that the rubber gloves would keep the water hot better than the other materials because he had observed me using rubber gloves to wash dishes in hot water, so he surmised that the rubber material resisted absorbing heat. My eight-year-old daughter predicted the hand towel would work as the best insulator because it was thick and she thought it would prevent air from entering the mug to cool off the water.
To begin the investigation, I selected four mugs that were the same size. I then filled each mug with 150 milliliters of hot water. This part was challenging for me because I wanted to ensure that each mug had the same volume of water in order to have accurate data. If I were to repeat this experiment, I would attempt to procure a liquid measuring device that was more accurate than a kitchen measuring cup. My next step was to measure the temperature of each mug and record that information. The first mug had a temperature reading of 46 degrees Celsius, the second mug measured 40 degrees Celsius, the third mug was at 38 degrees Celsius, and the fourth mug had water at a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius. I then covered each mug with its corresponding material, and set my timer for thirty minutes. After the time had elapsed, I removed the materials and again measured the temperature of the water. The first mug had been covered with a towel, and the water temperature had decreased to 34 degrees Celsius, for a difference of 12 degrees. The second mug, covered with rubber gloves, had decreased from 40 degrees to 34 degrees Celsius, a difference of six degrees. The third mug had been covered with paper towels, and its temperature had decreased four degrees to 34 degrees Celsius. The fourth mug (with the aluminum foil covering) was more challenging to measure because on the thermometer, it appeared to have only decreased slightly below 36 degrees, and I could not get an accurate reading using Celsius. The indicator was lined up at 96 degrees Fahrenheit, so I then converted that temperature to Celsius for a reading of 35.56 degrees Celsius, which reflected a decrease of only 1.56 degrees.
After analyzing the data, I confirmed that my prediction was correct; the aluminum foil functioned as the best insulator by keeping the water temperature from decreasing the least amount during the thirty minute. I was intrigued by this experiment, and I am planning to repeat this activity in my classroom. It would be a highly engaging guided inquiry investigation, and my students would enjoy selecting their materials and discussing why they think their materials would function as an effective insulator. This activity also lends itself to further inquiry investigations, such as seeing what happens when the water is left longer than thirty minutes, or what might happen if the water is placed in a different container than a mug. Finally, this investigation correlates with an activity from the third-grade textbook called “Hot Ice” (Harcourt, 2000, p. 93) in which students design an experiment to see which environment will make an ice cube melt the fastest.
In conclusion, having the opportunity to perform a guided inquiry activity was a benefit to me as an educator. It was illuminating to see how engaging and appealing it was to have the chance to think about and choose my own variables to the investigation. Students enjoy having a choice, and guided inquiry allows our learners to create and conduct their own investigations to answer a research question. Such in-depth learning is an advantage to our students as it helps them to become more proficient at scientific concepts. “Science literacy involves more than just what students know. It is also concerned with how they think and how they do things” (Harcourt, 2000, p. T13). Guided inquiry is an effective strategy for creating such scientifically literate students, and it is a valuable part of any science curriculum.
Harcourt science (California ed.). (2000). Orlando, FL: Harcourt School Publishers.
Laureate Education, Inc., (2010). Application: Exploring Heat Transfer [Lecture notes].
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Tillery, B., Enger, E., & Ross. F. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Tomecek, S. (2006). Sandwich bag science: 25 easy, hands-on activities that teach key concepts
in physical, earth, and life sciences - and meet the science standards. New York, NY:
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