Engineering Design Process: Building an Insulated Cooler
The Seventh Grade Science Class put their minds to work to design an insulated cooler that would keep an ice cube frozen for an entire class period. The students researched on the computer for what materials make good insulators and the materials were gathered. Materials used for the insulated coolers included liquid insulation, Crisco, Styrofoam packing peanuts, household insulation, sweatshirt material, and Styrofoam panels. They designed, built, tested, and evaluated their coolers. The results were:
|
Insulation Material |
% of Ice Cube Remaining Frozen |
| Liquid Insulation w/ icepack |
95% |
| Household Insulation |
90% |
| Styrofoam Panel |
67.5% |
| Styrofoam Panel |
61% |
| Styrofoam Panel |
55% |
| Crisco (chilled) |
47% |
| Styrofoam Panel |
19% |
| Styrofoam Packing Peanuts |
0% |
| Sweatshirt Material |
0% |
Ciara thought the Crisco kept the ice cube colder than she thought it would while others were disappointed with the effectiveness of the Styrofoam.
Report incident
