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A student investigated the insulating properties of newspaper - AQA - GCSE Physics - Question 10 - 2019 - Paper 1
Question 10
A student investigated the insulating properties of newspaper. Figure 15 shows the apparatus the student used. The student's results are shown in Figure 16. Descr... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A student investigated the insulating properties of newspaper - AQA - GCSE Physics - Question 10 - 2019 - Paper 1
Step 1
Describe a method the student could have used to obtain the results shown in Figure 16.
Answer
To investigate the insulating properties of newspaper, the student could follow these steps:
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Prepare the Apparatus: Wrap a specific number of layers, denoted as N, of newspaper around the metal can that holds hot water.
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Heat Water: Heat water in a kettle or using a Bunsen burner, ensuring to heat it to a known initial temperature.
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Measure Water Volume: Use a measuring cylinder to accurately measure and record the volume of water to be used in the metal can.
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Record Initial Temperature: Before starting the experiment, measure the initial temperature of the water using the digital thermometer and record this value.
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Time Measurement: Start a stopwatch to measure the duration of 5 minutes.
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Calculate Temperature Drop: After 5 minutes, measure the final temperature of the water in the can and calculate the temperature decrease by subtracting the final temperature from the initial temperature.
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Repeat for Various Layers: Repeat the experiment using different numbers of layers of newspaper (e.g., 1, 5, 10, 15, etc.) to gather a range of data for analysis.
Step 2
Explain why it was not necessary to use a temperature probe and datalogger for this investigation.
Answer
In this investigation, it was not necessary to use a temperature probe and datalogger because:
- The temperature measurements were taken at two points: the initial temperature of the hot water and the temperature after a fixed duration of 5 minutes, which can be accurately done with a standard digital thermometer.
- The investigation focuses on the qualitative change in temperature over a specific period, rather than continuous monitoring of temperature changes.
- The scale of the experiment is manageable enough to allow manual measurements without significant loss of accuracy, making simpler methods adequate for the purpose.