Fact or Fiction?
Or
Could Baby Bear’s Porridge Really Be “Just Right”?An Inquiry into Heat Loss and Insulation
By Deborah Freedman & Judy Powell
Revised by Shawn Reintjes, The Science House, 2007
Introduction:
In the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, Goldilocks happened upon three bowls of porridge after illegally breaking and entering the home of the Three Bears. This break-in used quite a lot of Goldilocks’ energy, thus making her very hungry. However, she was a very picky eater. She sampled each of the three bowls. Poppa’s (in the largest bowl) was too hot, so she passed it up. Momma’s (in the medium size bowl) was too cold. But Baby Bear’s porridge (in the baby sized bowl) was just right.
Problem:
Is the above scenario possible?
Using the various containers supplied by your teacher:1. Design an experiment to test the problem
2. Explain the steps of your experiment (you may use drawings to help).
3. Record your observations/data.
4. Analyze your results.
Answer this question:
Was Goldilocks telling the truth about what happened at the Three Bears’ house?Experimental Design
1. Identify the dependent variable(s) (what you are testing for).
2. Identify the independent variable(s) (what changed).
3. Identify the control (what stays the same).
4. Compare the rates of heat loss in the types and sizes of containers
(rate of heat loss=change in temp/change in time).5. Did the size of the container affect the loss of heat? How?
6. Did the type of material of the container affect the loss of heat? How?
7. Write a conclusion from your experiments.
8. Using the information gained from these experiments, rewrite the “porridge portion” of the Goldilocks’ story giving details of how it could be true. Write at least two different possible explanations.
A. Miscellaneous Supplies
a. Supply at least three sizes of containers made from the same material, such as glass, metal, etc.
b. To expand the theories of heat loss through conduction and insulation, supply containers that are similar in size but of different materials, such as paper, plastic, and Styrofoam cups.
c. Have a source of hot water that can be maintained at a nearly constant temperature.
d. Encourage students to find cooling rates of water in each container, then compare container size to material type.
B. Computer Set-Up
a. Instruct students to use the LoggerPro or Logger Lite programs on the computer. You may want to use multiple temperature probes in each computer to expedite data collection.
b. Open LoggerPro or Logger Lite and create a new experiment file. Save it as, “Goldilocks’ Big Cool Down”. (*Graph axis should be set so Y axis reads about 5 degrees Celsius below room temperature as the minimum value and about 5 degrees Celsius higher than the temperature of your heated water.) Set number of collections, intervals, etc. as you see fit.
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