Lesson 20: Building an Insulator: Planning and Gathering
Building an Insulator: Planning and Gathering
Introduction
Hello scientists! Are you ready to become an engineer? Using your research about insulators, you will begin to design your very own insulator today! You will also begin gathering materials that you will need to make your insulator once you have finished your design.
In the Keep a Cube Challenge, the students were tasked with building a box to keep an ice cube from melting. Did this remind you of any real-world challenges we face? What about keeping food and drinks cold in lunch boxes and coolers?
Assignment
Your Challenge: Build an insulator to keep an ice cube from melting.
The most critical step of any engineering challenge is to understand the problem you are trying to solve. The problem you are trying to solve today is heat transfer. This is when the heat in the room is transferred to the ice cube, causing the ice cube to melt.
What do you know about insulators that could help solve this problem? How can you keep the warm air from the room away from your cold ice cube?
For today's task, follow the steps below:
- Step 1: Grab your science journal.
- Step 2: Draw a design for your insulator.
- Step 3: Label each part of your design in your science journal. Here are some guiding questions to help you:
- How can you keep the ice cube cold?
- What's a good way to insulate your container to hold your ice cube?
- Step 4: Write a plan to explain how to keep your ice cube from melting. Use what you have learned about insulators and conductors from your past investigation.
- Step 5: Begin gathering materials that you will need to build your insulator. Some suggestions for materials could include:
- cardboard
- tape, scissors, pencil
- aluminum foil
- paper plate
- plastic wrap
- cotton balls
- construction paper
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