Rubber Bands, Elasticity, and Temperature

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sguymon
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Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2017 2:32 pm
Occupation: Teacher

Rubber Bands, Elasticity, and Temperature

Post by sguymon »

We are not getting any change in the length of the rubber band. What are we doing wrong??
willrosenthal
Former Expert
Posts: 36
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 9:45 pm
Occupation: Student

Re: Rubber Bands, Elasticity, and Temperature

Post by willrosenthal »

Hi,

Are you making sure to follow the following steps carefully? If you have been following these steps, let me know and I can try to determine what is going wrong.

Thanks!

Using the scissors, cut one rubber band so that it is a straight ribbon rather than a circle.
Tie one end of the rubber band to the middle of the skewer, and the other end to the hook (or knob) on the steel weight.
Gently, being careful not to burn yourself on the hot water or steam, lower the weight and rubber band into the graduated cylinder. Rest the skewer across the opening of the graduated cylinder to prevent the whole thing from falling inside. Use putty or play dough to secure the skewer to the edges of the graduated cylinder.

Measure the water temperature with a thermometer. With the ruler, measure the rubber band stretch length between the skewer and the weight. Record both of these measurements in a data table in your lab notebook.
Tip: If you find it difficult to use the ruler to measure the rubber band stretch length, then use the ruler to measure how many millimeters apart the tick marks are on the graduated cylinder. Now count tick marks between the bamboo skewer and the weight and convert that back into millimeters.
Continue to measure the water temperature and stretch length every three to five minutes until the water temperature stabilizes around room temperature.
Once the temperature has stabilized, pour out approximately 25mL of water from the graduated cylinder. Add 25mL of ice water to replace it. Mix the water in the graduated cylinder thoroughly with the handle of a wooden spoon or other long implement. Measure the water temperature and rubber band stretch length. Record the measurements in your lab notebook.
Repeat step 8 until the final water temperature is approximately the same as your ice water.
Repeat steps 2-9 twice more. Use a new rubber band each time. Make sure the starting length of your rubber bands (once they are tied to the bamboo and weight) is approximately the same each time.
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