Cold Weather Science

Well, the weather outside is cold and damp, so you are stuck inside and wishing you could be doing something more interesting. Maybe you are looking outside at the cold and ice, and you wonder to yourself…

Start with a Question: I wonder how fast I can cool my cocoa if I put it outside?

Investigate: Put some warm water (why waste cocoa?) outside and see how quickly it cools. Try a variety of samples with various containers, locations, and other variables you can think of (sun or shade, stirring or blowing, etc.).

Observe and Collect Data: Use a thermometer, watch, notepad and pencil to record how cold the water gets, and how long it takes, and what variables you changed for each of your samples (size of container, location, weather conditions, etc.).

Analyze: Did the water cool? How quickly? Did all the samples behave the same way? Were any of the variables important?

Interpret the data and draw conclusions: Do you think your cocoa would cool down if you put it outside? How long do you think it would take? Are there things you can do to speed it up?

Test it: Use the results to figure out the fastest way to cool your cocoa and see if it works. Challenge someone to a cocoa cooling contest and apply what you have learned to see who can cool their cocoa the fastest.

If you decide to do this experiment, share it with us! Post as a comment what you did, what your variables were and what results you got, or what you observed.