Conductors and Insulators!

Today we did an experiment to test the conductivity of different materials. A conductor will allow heat to flow through it easily. A material that does not allow the flow of heat is called an insulator. Today we found out which materials would be good insulators or if they would make better conductors!
To do this, we covered bottles of hot water with different materials. We found the temperature of the water, then covered our jars securely. After twenty minutes, we uncovered the jars and took the temperature again. We then had a class discussion about which materials helped hold the heat in better and which materials seemed to let the heat flow out of the jar. The materials we used were
foil


felt


fabric


bubble wrap


paper bag


and wrapping paper.



While waiting the twenty minutes, we put a wooden, plastic, and metal spoon into a bowl of hot water. We all felt each spoon and found that the metal got pretty hot! We concluded that metal is a very good conductor of heat! I guess that is why we cook with metal pans!

We also learned a new song! The Magnet Family! I will get a video of this and put it on soon!

Science was fantastic today!
Mrs. M