Wednesday 8 December 2010

Melting ice, and using insulators

At the beginning of the class, the teacher showed us a picture of a showman, and she asked us to think about whether putting a coat on the snowman would make the snowman melt more slowly or more quickly.  We were all very sure that the snowman will melt more quickly with his coat on.  Coats are lovely and warm, and usually heat melts the snow.  We all thought the same thing.  We took a vote but all decided that this was the right answer.  Then teacher did this ice experiment with us:
Now we can see that coats are good insulators and will keep us nice and warm when it is cold outside, but if you put a coat on a snowman, the coat will stop the warmer air getting at the snowman, so having a coat will actually keep the snowman colder for longer, and so he will be slower to melt!  We must try this the next time we have snow!!!

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