Science Summative.

House insulation.

Paul-Emile.Bretones. FND / MYP 3

Problem to
resolve. The problem which we had to resolve
was that we had a “house” that in
summer was really too hot and in witter
really too cold. We had to resolve this
problem. We had some materials to
use to solve this problem.
 We had a cardboard box and were supposing

Introduction: that it was a house. We put inside a beaker

with some boiling water. We put some
materials for it to be more isolated.

My teammate Emirhan and I first put on the

inside top, the bottom, the tabs and on the 4
sides of the box some aluminium for the heat
to reflect on it and for it not to get quickly less
warm.

We put around the beaker some cotton wool

for it to be isolated from the cold and we put
some bubble wrap on the top of the beaker
as the air is a bad conductor therefore it is a
good isolated.
Objects used for the My teammates and I chose to work
experimentation with the materials: aluminium, cotton
wool, bubble wrap and cardboard.
and why there were
used like this. I think this is a good choice of materials
as cotton wool, bubble wrap and
cardboard are bad conductors which
makes them be good isolators.

The aluminium was also one important

tool for this experiment as it reflects the
thermal energy back in the box.

We also used a bit of scotch to attach

the materials wherever we decided to.
 Diagram of the We can see the bubble wrap as well as the
beaker and the wool around it.
cardboard house
when finished and The aluminium is all around the box which is
fully made out of cardboard. We can see a
isolated. piece of the thermometer in the hole.

Bubble Wrap.

Thermometer.

Aluminium.

Beaker.
Cotton Wool.
Cardboard.
Table: To Time (minutes). (No house) (Insulated house)
show the temperature (°C). temperature (°C).
decrease of 0 88.0 70.0
temperature 1 85.0 69.0
over time.
2 79.0 68.5
3 70.5 68.0
We can see that the
beaker that was in the 4 67.0 67.0
house lost less heat
than the one that was 5 64.5 66.5
just standing on the
table. This can be 6 62.0 66.0
proven by this table at
my right. 7 60.0 65.5
8 58.5 65.0
9 56.5 64.5
10 55.0 64.0
 I knew that the heat rises up at the “roof

The knowledge of of the house” which means that

aluminium will make the heat reflect on it.
my partner and I, It means that if you put some
influencing the everywhere, the heat energy will bounce
everywhere and will less be able to get
experiment. out of the cardboard box. This would
make the loss of heat a lot smaller.

The bubble wrap, the cotton wool and

the cardboard box are all bad conductors
which makes them good insulators. This
is due to the air in each of these objects /
materials.
 Materials
Isolators for house.
Fiberglass: this material is a
really bad conductor as it traps
lots of little pocket of air. As
these pockets are really small,
convection will not be able to be
made, they will stop it. This
makes it a really good isolator.
Asbestos: this object is an a
house insulator which you
place ever in the roofs, in
the walls or in the floors’
tiles.
Problems: political,
ethical or
environmental issues.
Fiberglass : it can irritate your
skin, you can also have some
difficulties with your breathing
and with seeing. It is really
expensive. Environmental issue
such as mining for getting the
materials for creating the
fiberglass will affect a lot the
environment.
Asbestos : if you live in a house
which contains asbestos and you
are in contact of it for a long
period of your life you will more
often catch cancer. Asbestosis
is a cancer.
There is also a political issue
which is that in most of the
countries it is not allowed
anymore but in some other they
are still in use..
Bibliography in 1. Fuller, John. “Is Insulation Dangerous?”
HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 24 Mar. 2008,
MLA 8. home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/house
hold-safety/dangerous-insulation1.ht.

2. “What Is Asbestos? How Does It Cause Cancer?”

Mesothelioma Center - Vital Services for Cancer
Patients & Families, www.asbestos.com/asbestos/.

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q Pb32O5-Ho

Did not manage to cite in MLA 8 the youtube video. Really

sorry.