Biology: Group 4 - Cooling Effect of Different Fabrics

BIOLOGY
GROUP 4 COOLING EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FABRICS
Aim (L)
To investigate the cooling effect of different fabrics by mimicking the heating effect of physical activity on the body
Hypothesis (S)
There are various factors that affect the cooling effect of fabrics, these include: 1. Thickness of fiber 2. Tightness of weave Therefore, we predict that the thicker the fibre , the worse it is for cooling effect. The tightness of weave has a direct effect on the cooling effect of the fibre. The tighter the weave, the smaller the air spaces between the fibre strings. This means that there is less ventilation, and the heat is harder to escape. Thus the tighter the weave, the more the cooling effect and the faster the cloth cools to a normal room temperature. Homeostasis is the process of maintaining a constant body environment. We are trying to imitate the bodys temperature when physical exercise is undertaken. When this happens, sweat from the sweat glands is released on the body. The sweat evaporates from the body, and takes away the body heat, the body experiences a cooling effect as the average kinetic energy of the body falls. In our experiment, we are using different temperatures of water to imitate the different temperatures of the body after varying levels of physical exercise. Therefore, we allow the temperature of the fabric to fall from the different temperatures to the room temperature of 25.1C, imitating the cooling effect. The cooling effect has the effect of aiding homeostasis, allowing the body temperature of an individual to stay constant, even after heating by physical exercise.
Apparatus
Boiling Tubes (x5) Water Bath Thermometers (x5) Trough Cotton, Rayon, Polyester, Silk Boiling Tube Stand Stopwatch Tissue Paper Meter Rule Scissors
Variables (S)
Independent Fabric Material Dependent Amount of time the cloth takes to cool to room temperature Control Starting temperature per trial, time period for heating the cloth in water bath, apparatus, surface area of cloth piece (5 cm x 7 cm)
Method (L)
Take a water bath, and set the temperature to 50C. Put a boiling tube stand in the water bath. Add tap water to 5 boiling tubes and put them in the boiling tube stand. Wrap 5 pieces of cotton, each measuring 5 x 7 cm around 5 different digital thermometers, and add each of the 5 thermometers to each of the boiling tubes. After 5 minutes, remove the thermometers, and then remove the cotton from the thermometers. Empty the water from the boiling tube, and then wrap the cotton around the thermometer. Start the stopwatch, and measure the amount of time the temperature of the cotton takes to reach 25.1C. Repeat this experiment four more times with cotton pieces. Repeat the above steps for 5 trials with nylon, polyester and silk.
Explanations (S 0.5, L 0.5)

Cotton: has larger air spaces between fibers as the tightness of the weave is less. Thus, it is effective at losing heat and cooling the temperature of the fabric to the normal room temperature. This is because the air ventilation is much higher, taking away the heat (S) Nylon fiber: The thickness of the weave is very less, and has many small air spaces in the fiber. The tightness of the weave is also very low, lower than that of cotton, therefore the nylon is effective at losing heat and cooling the temperature of the fabric to the normal room temperature. However, we are not sure that the nylon given to us was the correct fabric, since it was a simple weave and not a cloth. (L) Polyester: The weave of the polyester is tighter than that of cotton and nylon, and there are a few air spaces between the polyester. Therefore, the polyester is not as effective at losing heat than the cotton and the nylon.(S) Silk: Silk has an extremely tight weave, and there are hardly any air spaces between the fibers. The fiber is also very fine, and the thickness of the weave is higher than that of the other 3 fabrics. Also, the air ventilation of the silk is very low. Therefore, the silk is ineffective at losing heat and cooling the temperature of the fabric to the room temperature. (L)
COTTON (S 0.5, L 0.5)

COTTON FABRICATION (S) Cotton is a naturally grown plant. Cotton lint is harvested from cotton fields and cleaned at a manufacturing plant. A carding machine organizes the cotton fibers by combing them. The combing forces the fibers to line up parallel to one another. The cotton transforms from a fiber into yarn through manipulation on a spinning frame. A final loom machine converts the yarn into usable material for clothing production. COTTON COOLING PROPERTIES (L) Cottons fibers naturally absorb liquid. Moisture absorbs into a cotton shirt as a person sweats. The skin cools from the removal of the moisture. The shirts moisture evaporates out of the material. A person can continue sweating, and the shirt will continue to absorb and evaporate the moisture.
EVALUATION
STRENGTHS Used a wide variety of different cloths through the background information collected, we thought that 2 of the cloths were widely used, 1 could be used and 1 was not used. We took 3 trials. WEAKNESSES We had to change our method as the water bath was reaching a higher temperature than required. Our range was too high, as in the human body the temperatures vary by only a few degrees, while in our experiment, it was too difficult to maintain to the hot water at a specific temperature, as the water temperature constantly fluctuates. We did mimic the varied body temperatures, albeit with a higher range. We did not use artificial sweat but used plain water sweat contains salts which could have affected the outcomes of the experiment.
We took different temperatures to constitute for the different types of conditions during physical activity.
CONCLUSION
We believe that the experiment we conducted was ultimately successful, and the hypothesis was proved to be correct, that the thicker the fiber, and the tighter the weave, the worse it is for the cooling effect taking place the cooling effect took more time with tighter weaves and thicker fiber, such as silk, and lesser time with fibers such as nylon and cotton.

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BIOLOGY

GROUP 4 COOLING EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FABRICS

Explanations (S 0.5, L 0.5)

COTTON (S 0.5, L 0.5)

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