Center Focus
Ice Insulation
- You will need the following materials:
- ice cubes
- paper towels
- wax paper
- plastic wrap
- metric balance
- newspapers
- aluminum foil
- The objective of this center is for students to find the best way to insulate an ice cube to prevent it from melting.
- Students can work in a center group, wrapping ice cubes in the various materials.
- Students will first need to weigh the ice cube before they wrap it. They will also need to make a chart where they can compare the different methods and record the weight after a specified amount of time.
- They should also leave one ice cube uninsulated (as a control) to compare results at the end of the experiments.
- After one hour (or less depending on the temperature of your classroom), have students unwrap the ice cubes, weigh them, record the data, and come to a conclusion as to which method was best.