Science Fair- independent variable

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snkowalski
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Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 3:13 pm
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Science Fair- independent variable

Post by snkowalski »

My son is doing 7th Grade Science Fair this year with our homeschool group. He choose to do "Which coffee cup keeps your drink hot the longest?" We are a few weeks into the process and have come to the realization that we cannot find identical sized coffee cups in stainless steel, ceramic, glass, styrofoam, & paper. We have found very similar sized cups in ounces and mouth openings, but the cups are not precisely identical in size. Can this experiment still be done for science fair? Please advise.
Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide,
kstromberg
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Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2022 8:29 pm
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Re: Science Fair- independent variable

Post by kstromberg »

Hi there!

There are a couple different things to consider, presumably the cups will have different size mouths/openings (i.e. the very top of the cup) even if they were both 12 oz. This would influence the surface area exposed to the air. The most important factor to consider is surface area to volume, which is what should be the most consistent between the cups. If they have lids with sipping openings, this will also influence the amount exposed.

For the purpose of a 7th grade science fair, these are certainly variables to consider. However, I think cups of close to the same size and shape should be sufficient as the question is more aimed towards the cup material. My suggestion is just keeping the surface area to volume ratio as close to the same as possible for all cups.
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