Thermoregulation+Inquiry+Labs

**Please use this page to summarize your thermo regulation labs.**
Group: Mike S., Carrie B., Joe M., Lance M.


 * Title of Lab**: Does Size Matter?
 * Focus Question:** Does fin height (surface area) determine the rate of warming?
 * Hypothesis:** If we increase the height of the fin then the rate of warming will increase more quickly because there was more surface area to lose heat from the popsicle.
 * Summary**: We began this lab by first placing four popsicles on top of an ice pack to lower their temperatures. After, we wrapped a consistent amount of tin foil around around the popsicles and added fins of different heights (leaving one without foil to serve as a control). We took initial temperatures, and let them sit for 10 minutes (now off of an icepack) to watch for heat loss. Our hypothesis was rejected because our results were the reverse of what we expected. The popsicle without foil warmed the fastest, and the popsicle with the tallest fin had the least amount of heat loss.


 * Sources of Error**: Thermometers weren't placed in the right position, the number of samples, trials, and data points (when we checked temperature change) were far less than what would need to be tested in order to get valid results.

All in all, this was a great way to observe inquiry and get our "wheels turning" on the subject of thermo-regulation. A lab that could be replicated easily in a classroom.