Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello ,
My fifth grader has selected the Soda project - What is fastest way to cool a soda ? I was reviewing materials and procedures to see what she needed and I have some questions on procedure based on how she and I interpreted it. At step seven in procedure it states to quickly remove each set of cans from their cooling device and measure temperature. Does this mean all three cans in each cooling device have temperature taken at their five minute then ten minute respectively . Or is it can one at five , can two at ten minute, and can three at fifteen minute with respect to five minute increments ? So for example, she would do can # 1 from fridge , then freezer , then cooler 1 , then cooler 2 and then at next five minute interval take temperature of can # 2 in each of the cooling devices and then finally can # 3. She is doing her research right now , so I just want to help her get organized and prepared for when she starts her experiment in a few days. Also wanted to ask if she should she do the test twice to show consistency with her findings ? Sorry for all the questions , but I am so out of my comfort zone and I want to facilitate if needed so that I know she understands what she is doing and why .

Sincerely,
One stressed out Momma
Aka Kristi

Hi kristi,
The procedure is to measure all three cans at each five minute interval for each cooling device. Doing a second run would help confirm consistency the results of the experiment. For most experiments the more data collected the more accurate the results/conclusion will be. If the experiment is done twice make sure that the data and averages are separate because variables like the temperature of the ice water bath may have changed.

Hope this helps.

Dear Kristi,

I believe that the procedure means that at every five minutes (or another reasonable time interval) you would measure the temperature of ALL the soda cans in their various spots. This would ensure accurate results because each soda can is getting an equal amount of time to cool and change temperature.

Hope this helps and good luck on the rest of the experiment!

Matthew