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9th Grade Performance Task
Developed by: RAND Corporation (RAND)
Stanford University and the Far West Laboratory, 1994
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Rate of Cooling Performance Assessment
"MESSING AROUND"
Group Activity Card
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The Alpine Outdoor Clothing Company has asked you,
as skilled science students, for information on the following
problem:
Find a way to accurately measure how quickly
heat is lost through a fabric.
To investigate this problem, your group will be
able to use the following materials:
| Your group should have the following materials: |
Your teacher will supply the entire class with the
following materials: |
- 1 Group Answer Sheet
- 1 Celsius thermometer
- 1 watch with second hand or stopwatch
- 1 250-ml beaker
- 1 large plastic container with lid, containing:
- 1 standard soup size metal can with top lid removed
- 1 fabric "sock," labeled Fabric B
- 1 sandwich size re-sealable plastic bag
- 2 rubber bands
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- water supply labeled "Warm Water"
- water supply from faucet or labeled "Tap Water"
- ice (cubes or crushed)
- safety goggles for every student
- paper towels (or other drying material)
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FACILITATOR: Before the group "messes around"
with the equipment, ask each group member (including yourself)
the questions below. Be sure that everyone answers a question
before going on to the next quesiton. Start with a different
person each time you go to a new question. Your group's RECORDER
will take brief notes on the GROUP ANSWER SHEET.
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What ideas do you have about how to measure
heat lost through a fabric, using the equipment provided?
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How will you keep the fabric "sock"
dry?
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How will you measure the rate of cooling
for the fabric? What units will you use?
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Do you think that the rate of cooling will
depend on how much hot water is in the can? If so, how?
After answering these questions, guide your
group in "messing around" with the equipment. Try out
as many of the group's ideas as possible. Remember that the fabric
"socks" MUST STAY DRY.
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Rate of Cooling Performance Assessment
"MESSING AROUND"
Group Answer Sheet
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RECORDER: Write your name in the heading of this
paper. Write each group member's name (inclduing your own) in
the boxes below, one name per box. Take brief notes on
each person's response to the questions in the table. Write these
comments in INK (do not go back and change them!). You do not
need to write in complete sentences.
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Name: |
Name: |
Name: |
Name: |
| What ideas do you have about how
to measure heat lost through a fabric, using the equipment
provided? |
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| How will you keep the fabric "sock"
dry? |
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| How will you measure the rate
of cooling for the fabric? What units will you use? |
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| Do you think that the rate of cooling
will depend on how much hot water is in the can? If so, how? |
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Rate of Cooling Performance Assessment
"MESSING AROUND"
Group Answer Sheet, page 2
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RECORDER: In the space below, write down any notes
you think are important as your team "messes around"
with the equipment. You may use pen or pencil (you may
change these notes if you wish). You do not need to write in complete
sentences.
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Rate of Cooling Performance Assessment
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Student Instruction Sheet
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You have recently been presented with a situation
that can be approached scientifically. The Alpine Outdoor Clothing
Company has asked you, as a skilled science student, for information
on the following problem:
Given a choice of jackets mae from three different
materials, which one would do the best job of slowing down the loss
of body heat?
As explained earlier, the equipment available to investigate
this problem includes:
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soup size metal can
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3 different fabric "socks" that can
be fitted over the can, one at a time, labeled Fabric A, Fabric
B, and Fabric C
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1 large container
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tap water and ice
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warm water (at or above 37 degrees Celsius)
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1 Celsius thermometer
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1 stopwatch (or similar timepiece to measure
seconds)
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additional materials: 1 250-ml beaker, 1 sandwich
size re-sealable plastic bag, 2 rubber bands, paper towels,
safety goggles.
Your task is to design an experiment to solve the
problem using this equipment.
You must explain how to use the equipment to
measure the rate of cooling of warm water placed in the can.
Remember that the fabric "socks" MUST STAY DRY.
When instructed to do so, answer the questions on
your Student Answer Sheet.
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When the time is up, turn in this sheet
and your Student Answer Sheet as directed by your
instructor.
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Rate of Cooling Performance Assessment
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Student Answer Sheet
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TEAR OFF THIS PAGE.
Read through this table carefully, and use it to
help you write answers that are CLEAR, PRECISE, and COMPLETE.
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GUIDING QUESTIONS
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CAUTIONS
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CAUTIONS
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CLEAR
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WRITING
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DRAWING
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- Can another student understand what you've written or
drawn?
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- Answer in complete sentences when appropriate
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- Avoid crowding
- Erase completely
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PRECISE
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WRITING
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DRAWING
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- Did you respond directly to the question?
- Are your measurements exact?
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- Do not use words like "it" unless you're sure
the reader knows what "it" refers to
- Specify units
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- Use labels and arrows
- Specify units or dimensions
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COMPLETE
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WRITING
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DRAWING
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- Did you responsd to all parts of the question?
- Have you included all the parts normally expected
(e.g., of a graph)?
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- Assume that the reader knows only what you tell him
or her
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- Label/identify all parts and pieces
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Rate of Cooling Performance Assessment
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Student Answer Sheet
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Write your answers to the questions below
in pencil.
Feel free to go back and change your responses within the
time allowed.
Make sure all your answers are CLEAR, PRECISE, and COMPLETE!
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You have been given the following problem:
Given a choice of jackets made from three different
materials, which one would do the best job of slowing down the loss
of body heat?
The previous task gave you the opportunity to "mess
around" with some equipment. For this task, you need to design
an experiment that uses the equipment on the Student Instruction
Sheet to measure the RATE OF COOLING for Fabric
A, Fabric B, and Fabric C. Your experiment should include
at least one experimental trial for each fabric.
- In your own words, what would you be trying to find out in such
an experiment? In other words, what would be the experiment's
purpose?
- List at least three measurements or quantities you would be
sure to keep the same for each trial in your experiment.
(These are factors that you need to control or standardize.)
a)
b)
c)
others:
- Think about how you would do a science experiment to investigate
this problem. In the space below, write a set of directions that
another student could follow to carry out your experiment. In
addition to the guidelines given on the first page of this answer
sheet, your directions should:
- begin with a list/illustrations of the materials
you will use
- be a series of numbered steps (after the materials
section)
- have enough detail so that another student would
know exactly what to do without extra help
- include illustrations where you feel they are appropriate
MATERIALS:
Continue your answer to Question 3 in the space below as needed.
Otherwise, GO ON TO QUESTION 4 ON THE NEXT PAGE.
- Draw a chart or table that you could use to record the data
from your experiment. Make sure this chart or table allows you
to organize the data so that you could compare the three different
fabrics to one another.
- In what units does your experiment measure rate of cooling?
________________ per _________________
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