PACKARD MIDDLE SCHOOL DATA

Student Testimonial One

At Sylvia Packard Middle School, the math teachers and their eighth grade students participated in a project called Keep the Heat. This was a worldwide project. During the course of the project, the students tried many recycled materials to see which would create the best insulation. We measured the insulation on the R-value scale. We measured the temperature with a probe and a Palm Pilot.

On the very first day, we used a Palm Pilot and a probe to measure the natural environment's temperature. It was twenty-three (23) degrees Celsius. Then we took a wooden box that contained a light bulb and no insulation inside of it. We put the probe in the box, shut the lid, turned the Palm Pilots on, and then we turned on the light bulb. Once the temperature inside the box reached 30 degrees above room temperature, which was approximately at fifty-three (53) degrees Celsius, we turned off the light bulb inside. Then we waited for the temperature to go back down thirty (30) degrees. This took approximately twenty minutes to do. On a R-value scale, this insulation would be about a 3 which is very bad.

On day two, we had three separate boxes set up. Group one’s box contained one layer of Styrofoam as insulation. When their temperature reached thirty degrees above room temperature, then they turned the light off. It took fifteen to go back down. Using a R-value scale, the R-value would probably be a 3. Group two’s box had two layers of insulation inside of it. When they turned their light off, it took about twenty minutes to back down. On an R-value scale, this would be a 6. Finally, group three’s box contained three layers of insulation inside. When they turned their light off, it only took twenty-five minutes to go back down to room temperature. On the R-value scale, this insulation would be a 9.

On the very last day, we used a recycled material for insulation. The material we used was shredded newspaper. When the temperature inside the box reached our desired temperature, we turned the light off. It then took around twenty-eight minutes for the temperature to go back down. We found that the recycled material or newspaper was the best insulation. The R-value of the newspaper would be about 11.

After the project was over, the students had learned that recycled materials, such as newspaper, worked better than Styrofoam layers and it worked much better than no insulation at all. The highest number of the R-value scale is a 12. When the students had no insulation, the R-value was 3. When they had one layer of Styrofoam, the R-value was 3 again. When they added another layer to the box, the R-value was 6. After that they added another layer of Styrofoam to make a total of three layers and the R-value of that was 9. In the end, they used shredded newspaper as insulation and the R-value on that was 11, which was the best out of all the insulations.

Student Testimonial Two

The Keep the Heat project was very interesting. In this project, we used Palm Pilots to record our information. Each member in a group was able to test the Palm Pilots. The point of the project was to try to find the best recycled material for insulation of a house. We took a wooden box with a light bulb inside. We tested our boxes with no insulation, with one, two or three pieces of Styrofoam, and with shredded pieces of newspapers to find the material that keeps the heat longer.

We took three days to do the procedure of the project. There were three groups with six or seven members. My group number was three. On the first day of testing our projects, all three groups tested with no insulation. We watched the temperature increase and decrease without an insulation. It heated up slowly because it had no insulation inside. It kept the heat longer. On the second day, each group tested the boxes with one, two, or three pieces of Styrofoam. We found out that the boxes that had two or three pieces of Styrofoam heated up faster than the box with one layer because it had more insulation. On the third day, we tested our projects with shredded pieces of newspaper. We found out that the shredded pieces of newspaper heated up slowly. It kept the heat longer. Looking at the graph, we predict that the R-value of the newspaper is eleven or twelve because it kept the heat longer, and it was the highest point on the graph.

The Keep the Heat project was exciting. We got to try out the project using Styrofoam, shredded newspaper and no insulation. The process of this project was very interesting. We were also able to go to the computer lab and design three graphs. It was fun. Our experience was wonderful. The best part was that at least every student in our class was able to use the Palm Pilots. We accomplished many things through the project that helped us learn more about heat.

Student Testimonial Three

Our class did a lab called “Keep the Heat.” We did this lab to find out if we could use recycled material as insulation for a house and helped keep the heat in best. “Keep the Heat” was a fun lab because we got to learn, work in groups, and try out new things.

On day one we measured how fast the temperature got to 55 degrees Celsius with no insulation. With no insulation it took 15 minutes for the heat to reach 55 degrees. The heat filled up so slow because there was no insulation. With the no insulation the heat to long to fill up the box but left the box very quick because there was no insulation.

On day two we measured how fast it took for the temperature to reach 55 degrees Celsius. First we measured the temperature with one layer of Styrofoam insulation. It took 8 minutes for the heat to reach 55 degrees Celsius. It took pretty long for the heat to fill up because there was not that much insulation. The heat also escaped from the box pretty quick. On day two we also measured how fast it took for the temperature to reach 55 degrees Celsius with two layers of Styrofoam insulation. It took 5 minutes for the heat to reach 55 degrees Celsius. The heat fille dup the box pretty quick but the heat left quickly. Also on day two we measured the temperature with three layers of Styrofoam insulation. It took 4 minutes for the heat to reach 55 degrees Celsius. The heat filled up very quick, but like the other layers the heat also left the box quickly.

On the last day, day three, we measured how fast it took for the temperature to reach 55 degrees Celsius with the insulation. As the insulation we used recycled material, which was newspaper. It took 10 minutes for the temperature to reach 55 degrees Celsius. The heat got to 55 degrees Celsius a little slow, but it took a long time for the heat to escape the box.

The room temperature for this lab was 23 degrees Celsius. In this lab we measured the heat for all the insulations with Palm Pilots. We also had to know the R-value of the insulators. The R-value of layer one is “3”, layer two is “6” and layer three is “9.” We estimate that the R-value of the recycled material we used is “11.”

In conclusion this was a fun project and we learned a lot from it. We learned that recycled material is a good insulation because it holds the heat in for a long time.