Posted for Elena:
Elena's classes explored the thermal insulation by covering cups with different materials and then filling the cups with hot water. The students recorded the temperature of the water as it cooled. We got non-mercury thermometers for the activity but the other material was provided by the students and the dining hall.
Link for the worksheet: Thermal Insulation Experiment Worksheet and Teaching Notes
Elena said that the activity took quite a while so here are some tips:
1) Use the thinnest, worst quality plastic cups you can find because they lose heat fastest.2) Start with hot water (from a kettle), the temperature falls fastest at the beginning.
3) You do not need to wait until the cups are at room temperature; stopping the activity once it has been going for 15 - 20 minutes is fine and you will hopefully see a difference between some of the cups.
4) Lids and covers make quite a big difference.
5) The students will probably be terrible at reading the thermometers - take some time to let them get used to using them - put them in hot water, read the temperature, then colder water and read the temperature.
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