SCIE-6661S-1-Wk 4: Heat

This week I tested the transfer of heat through convection using a mug with no cover, a mug with aluminum foil, a mug with bubble wrap, and a mug with a cotton cloth.  The experiment used convection because, the heat in the water turned into gas molecules that were trying to escape from the cup.  The mug with nothing on it obviously got the coldest in the 30 minutes.  The mug with the aluminum foil stayed the hottest.  The aluminum foil acted as a insulator to keep the heat-gas molecules inside the mug. 

	Nothing on Mug		Aluminum Foil on Mug		Bubble Wrap on Mug		Cotton Cloth on Mug
Start:  50 °C   122 °F	Start	End	Start	End	Start	End	Start	End
Wait time:               30 min	50 °C   122 °F	22 °C 71°F	50 °C   122 °F	29°C 84°F	50 °C   122 °F	27 °C 80°F	50 °C   122 °F	25 °C 77°F

SCIE-6661S-1 Exploring the Physical World---Wk 2 Guided Inquiry---Surface affects Momentum

In my own guided inquiry I wanted to figure out how do different surfaces affect the momentum of a marble.  My hypothesis is that due to the texture of the hardwood floor, I predict that the momentum of the marble would be faster and go further on it.  In order to do this experiment I used the two marbles that were in our kit (one large and one small), two rulers, and then I experimented on three different flooring in my house (the carpeted living room, the hardwood dining room, and the linoleum kitchen).  For each experiment I did, I made sure to test it three times and then averaged the results.  In order to make sure the results were not tampered, I placed tape on the floor between my shooter marble (the larger one) and the hit marble (the smaller one).  I made sure the distance between the marbles was 10 centimeters.  My results were as follows:  on the carpeted floor the average distance was 9 centimeters or 3 inches, on the hardwood floor the average distance was 29 centimeters or 11 inches, and on the linoleum the average distance was 44 centimeters or 17 inches.  I knew that the carpet would have caused the most friction and therefore would result in the slowest speed and distance.  I was pleasantly surprised that the linoleum made the marble have less friction which caused it to move with more momentum.  Just by looking at the floors, the linoleum looks rougher in comparison to the hardwood.  Some challenges that I encountered was that the marble started rolling back toward me.  Luckily, my husband stepped in and placed a piece of tape down.  I was then able to measure from the one marker to the other.  One thought that I had after completing this exercise is that I could have made it easier by creating some sort of track.  If I taped rulers together and then placed the marble inside of it, I wonder how my results would have differed.