Which fabric is Which fabric is the best insulatorthe best insulator

9-2 Project 1

PurposePurpose

To see which fabric keeps ice frozen the longest

HypothesisHypothesis

I think that fleece will be the best insulating material because it is thicker then the other materials.The thinner the material the quicker the ice will melt.

MaterialsMaterials 5 of the same size small containers 5 different pieces of fabrics cut into the

same size(Fleece,Terry Cloth,Wool,Polyester,Corduroy)

Measuring cup 5 of the same size large containers Cup Timer

ProcedureProcedure

1. Fill 5 small plastic containers with 100ml of water2. Place them in the freezer for approximately 8 hours until completely

frozen3. Cut fabric into the same size pieces4. Wrap a different piece of fabric around each container of ice5. Place each wrapped container of ice into larger Ziploc plastic

sandwich containers and put the lid on them6. Measure the amount of melted water at the base of each container at

one hour intervals7. Record results in a table.8. Measurements are made by dipping a ruler into the melted water.9. Repeat this three times for best results

VariablesVariables Manipulated Variable: the different fabrics

used to wrap the ice.

Responding Variable: the time it takes for the ice to melt under each fabric.

Control Variables:1. The temperature of the room(21 C)2. The amount of ice in each container3. The size of the pieces of fabric4. The placement of the cups in the freezer. (Placed

in a row in the very back of the freezer)5. Containers were a consistent size.

ResultsResults

All samples of water froze at the same rate.

The ice in each container melted at different rates depending on the fabric it was wrapped in.

Results: Trial 1Results: Trial 15:00pm

6:00pm

7:00pm 8:00pm 9:00 pm 10:00 pm

Polyester 0 8 12 15 21 24

Wool 0 7 10 14 19 22

Fleece 0 4 8 12 17 20

Terry Cloth 0 4 7 9 15 19

Corduroy 0 7 10 13 16 20

Results: Trial 2Results: Trial 25:00pm

6:00pm

7:00pm 8:00pm 9:00 pm 10:00 pm

Polyester 0 7 11 16 20 23

Wool 0 8 11 12 20 21

Fleece 0 3 7 12 18 20

Terry Cloth 0 3 9 11 18 20

Corduroy 0 6 8 12 17 22

Results: Trial 3Results: Trial 35:00pm

6:00pm

7:00pm 8:00pm 9:00 pm 10:00 pm

Polyester 0 8 12 16 20 24

Wool 0 6 10 12 19 21

Fleece 0 3 8 12 18 20

Terry Cloth 0 2 10 11 16 20

Corduroy 0 7 12 13 18 22

Results: AverageResults: AverageTrial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

Polyester 16.0 15.4 16 15.8

Wool 14.4 14.4 13.6 14.1

Fleece 12.2 12 12.2 12.1

Terry Cloth 10.8 12.2 11.8 11.6

Corduroy 13.2 13 14.4 13.5

0

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14

16

Amount of Melting (mm)

Polyester Wool Fleece Terry Cloth Corduroy

Type of Fabric

Which Fabric Is the Best Insulator

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Results: TrialsResults: Trials

Which Fabric Is The Best Insulator

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Polyester Wool Fleece Terry Cloth Corduroy

Fabric

Ave

rag

e M

elt

(mm

)

Average Melt

Results: AverageResults: Average

ConclusionConclusion

Based on my observations it seems that the Terry Cloth had the best insulating qualities. (11.6 mm)The fabric that acted as the worst insulator was polyester. (15.8 mm)My initial thoughts were that fleece would be the best insulator. However my experiment has shown that although fleece is a good insulator the Terry cloth appears to be a slightly better one.

Sources of ErrorSources of Error Where I placed the cups in the freezer was a

big factor on how the mixtures froze, because it was colder in the back of the freezer rather than the front

Insure that each container was far enough away from the other containers so that they all were at the same outside temperature.

Errors in measurements. Any chemicals in the tap water could have

affected the results in freezing.

Ways to ImproveWays to Improve

1. Increase the number of trials to get a more accurate result.

2. Use finer more accurate measuring instruments (like a graduated cylinder).

3. Make sure that each container was wrapped in exactly the same way with the insulating material.