Heat Loss Investigation

Heat Loss Investigation

Aim

To investigate how variations in surface area and volume ratios in

organisms lead to variations in heat loss and retention.

Introduction

Large animals have the ability to retain heat more easily than smaller

animals because they have a larger surface area to volume ratio. This

is the what I am trying to prove in the experiment. There are examples

of this in nature. In winter the robin fluffs its wings up in order to

retain more heat. When it does this, it forms a more spherical shape

and this also gives better heat retention. But as I am unable to use

live animals in the experiment I am using beakers full of hot water.

The reason that an animal with a lower surface area to volume ratio

retains heat more efficiently is because there is a greater volume to

keep the heat and a smaller surface area that is open to outside

elements.

Apparatus

- Diagram (see below)

- 2 x 500ml Beaker

- 2 x 100ml Beaker

- 2 x Tripod

- 2 x Bung w/ Thermometer

- Water Bath

- Ruler

- Insulating material

Method

Having set up the equipment as shown in the diagram, heat up the water

to around 70OC and fill both 500ml beakers with water. Then leave them

in the tripod and allow them to cool, taking care to ensure that the

beakers are both at the same height above the desk. Take a reading of

the temperature every minute for fifteen minutes. Then repeat with the

100ml beakers. Also repeat again with a 100ml and 500ml beaker with a

certain form of insulation covering them.

Predictions

330/500 = 0.66:1

115/100 = 1.15:1

1.15/0.66 = 1.742

I predict that the smaller beaker will lose heat around one and a half

times faster than the larger beaker.

Controlling the Variables

To ensure that this was a fair test several measures were taken in the