Why Synthetic Cartilage is a more practical treatment than Cartilage Regeneration: The face of medicine
In recent years, Cartilage regeneration was always thought to be the answer to countless medical necessities and desires, however synthetic cartilage has proven to be easier to work with and perform more effectively. This singular breakthrough has the potential to improve the lives of up to 50% of the world population, and should most definitely be pursued. This method could act as an alternative to joint replacement, cure osteoarthritis, which is “the second leading cause of disability in the elderly population in the United States”, mend cartilage damage/ degeneration, and also act as a flawless medium for cosmetic surgery.
In the past, cartilage regeneration was always thought to be impossible due to the nonvascular (tissue without blood vessels & veins nature of cartilage, however recent medical advancements have made it a reality. Cartilage is produced by cells called chondrocytes. When chondrocyte cells are at rest they are inactive, however while a joint is exercised, the corresponding receptors in the chondrocytes cells are increasingly receptive to growth factors produced by the human body. Researchers have denoted,"The receptors involved only appear after 5-20 minutes of repetitive movement," Bodily movement such as the rotation of the hip or flexing of elbow, creates friction which generates heat within the joint. This heat also is a major factor in promoting cell growth.
Many methods exist to regenerate cartilage, but none have reached an optimal success rate. Researchers from “Medical-News “have taken approach to this idea by “implanting a [temperature sensitive] matrix at the site of the damaged cartilage…[coupled with] physical therapy…..to maximize the effect of the [prescribed] medicine.” Another partially successful way to regenerate cartilage is “to introduce intra-articular blood and marrow elements, such as fibrin clot and fibrin glue with marrow elements…..To increase the rate of healing”. This method is referred to as AMS, or augmented Marrow Stimulation, and has been practiced since 2011. An alternative treatment method existing today for cartilage deterioration is Microfracture surgery. Microfracture surgery “is an articular cartilage repair surgical technique that works by creating tiny fractures in the underlying bone. This causes new cartilage to develop from a so-called super-clot.” This treatment exists to regrow the articular cartilage which is present on the ends of bones where they meet at joints in the body. Treating cartilage decomposition is a pressing matter because, “ [articular cartilage] can erode over time or be damaged by injury or overuse, causing pain and lack of mobility.” and actively disables over ⅓ of elderly citizens. Many treatments for cartilage deterioration through cartilage regeneration exist, yet none are considered optimal.
“The major components of the articular cartilage are water, type II collagen, and large aggregating proteogylcans. Other classes of molecules make up a minor, poorly defined, component of cartilage; these include proteins, lipids, phospholipids, and various other minor collagens.” None of these molecules in cartilage are vascular, which makes cartilage regeneration very difficult. In past years, medical researchers have responded to this dilemma by developing synthetic cartilage.
“In 2007 Guilak and his team developed a three-dimensional fabric "scaffold" into which stem cells could be injected and successfully “grown” into articular cartilage tissue. Constructed of minuscule woven fibers” In 2012, a medical researcher named Zhao developed a polymer hydrogel to join stem cells within the scaffolding for more accurate growth. A polymer is the perfect medium for synthetic cartilage, because it is nonconductive within the joint, and not soluble to materials from the human body. “Zhao compares [this process] to pouring concrete over a steel framework.”
Synthetic cartilage application to cosmetic surgery could evolve procedures, and diminish the need to harvest cartilage from elsewhere in the body for a surgical medium. If the scaffolding developed by doctor Zhao was applied to plastic surgery, it could work as a support, overlay, or filler in procedures such as rhinoplasty, cheek and chin implants, and ostoplasty.
Overall both cartilage regeneration, and the development of synthetic cartilage are amazing breakthroughs in medical science, but the production of synthetic cartilage is easier, more effective, and has the magnitude to benefit much more people.
Elevator Pitch:
Greetings, my name is Alex Caplin and I would love to talk to you today about how the production of synthetic cartilage is an easier and more effective treatment to battle cartilage deterioration, than regenerated cartilage. Currently, many methods exist to regenerate cartilage, yet none are considered completely effective. Today 1/3 of elderly people living in America suffer from crippling joint pain due to lack of cartilage within their joints. The production of synthetic cartilage has the magnitude to evolve surgeries that promote joint function, diminish the need to harvest and regenerate cartilage, as well as work as a flawless medium for cosmetic procedures. To successfully produce synthetic cartilage, medical researchers have developed a “three dimensional fabric scaffold in which stem cells could be injected and grown into articular cartilage tissue”. The newest advancement to this medical breakthrough is a polymer hydrogel that could either act as a catalyst for, or even replace stem cells in this procedure. Polymer exists as a perfect medium for the production of synthetic cartilage due to its nonconductive nature, (which would diminish heat friction within the joints) and is insoluble to all bodily materials. This process has been compared to pouring concrete over a steel framework. The production of customly shaped cartilage could be applied to various cosmetic procedures, and act as a paramount surgical medium. This breakthrough could be used as a custom overlay or filler for surgeries such as nose jobs, facial implants, and reconstructive procedures .You should invest in my research because the notion of utilizing synthetic cartilage is epic, and will change the face of medicine in coming years.
Reflection:
The chemistry of different everyday materials has shaped the lives of humans throughout our past, present and will continue to in the future. Our world would be in a completely different place now if everything we used to produce clothing, shoes, technology, houses, cars ect. were produced from the same basic materials. Not only has the development of materials created diversity among belongings, but it has made the creation process easier, more efficient, more affordable, safer, and has increased the reliability of products. For example, if steel was never created to produce buildings, the human kind would be using less optimal materials such as basic rocks, wood, and mud. Using solely pure earth materials would also lead to very rapid resource depletion. Overall, Material advancements have made our world a much safer place and have really given our technology a chance to flourish and expand.
The structure of matter on atomic, molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic levels can determine a materials properties in a variety of ways. Atomically, the position of a material's protons, neutrons, and electrons determine the stability, reactivity, and ability for the atom to bond. Molecular structure and bonding can determine the melting point, hardness, thermal and electrical conductivity, as well as solubility of a material.Microscopic structure of materials can have huge significance on properties of the material. For example, a sodium chloride crystal under a microscope will show very rigid and geometric boundaries within, this signifies ionic bonding and can express to the observer conductivity, a higher melting point, and water solubility. Psychically, macroscopic views of matter could determine characteristics such as color, texture, and essence. Conclusively, different views of matter can showcase its different characteristics.
Additional work:
River Watch Lab Write-up
1. Throughout the process of collecting our field measurements, I had a couple miniscule rules. My main role was to hold the collection containers for Lacey who was in the river gathering water with a large syringe. My secondary role was picking up trash around the AHS campus, among my fellow students and chemistry teacher, in order to make our school a cleaner and more beautiful location.
2. The general procedure for the river watch lab was pretty simple. As a class, we started out by heading down to the river to collect water samples. We collected a water samples to test hardness, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, metals in the solution, and the ph. Afterward, we returned to the classroom, and divvied up roles and prepped stations for our tests. Calvin and I started out by completing the “Hardness Data Sheet” and collecting clean glassware. We filled our graduated cylinder with 50ml of our sample water, and added 15 drops of ammonia buffer to produce a magenta colored liquid. After that, we zeroed our buret, and used it to titrate our liquid with EDTA, swirling with every drop until it turned a deep blue color. We made sure to keep track of the amount of drops needed to transform our previously magenta liquid. We recorded our data, and proceeded to repeat this procedure with our second sample of water and filled out our lab sheet. This test helped our river watch group determine hardness levels in Lightener creek.
3. My partner and I were measuring the hardness of water samples from Lightener Creek. This characteristic is important for the health of the aquatic ecosystem because it can greatly affect the overall ph, and alkalinity of water. Hardness effects aquatic ecosystems by boosting biologic productivity, biomass, and influencing the range of species able to thrive in the water.
4. I would not expect the hardness levels of lightener creek to fluctuate daily, if so it would be extremely difficult to measure such a small change. Over the course on a year, the hardness levels are expected to fluctuate with each coming season. During times of increased runoff, hardness levels are expected to decrease due to water dilution. Equally, the hardness levels are expected to increase in times of low flow. Downstream water also has increased hardness over upstream water due to the fact that is has passed over more soil/substrate.
5. Significant behaviors present in the Lightener Creek hardness graph, were specific spikes in the spring and fall months, with pretty drastic drops inbetween. These trends most likely exist, because with the increased rainfall, the stream water travels over more ground and picks up more sediment over time.
Energy & Place:
1 How does energy production and consumption impact place?
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic, and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions relating to energy production an consumption.
Scientific Paper:
In this experiment the evaluation of various substances coolant ability through evaporation was used to determine which substance is most effective for evaporative cooling The objective was to find the substance that most decreased thermal energy through evaporation similar to a swamp cooler. Different thermometer were submerged into three substances being water, isopropyl alcohol, and acetone. The initial thermometer temperature were recorded before submerging them into the substances. From there the temperature on each thermometer was recording every 2-5 minutes over a 15 minute period. This was conducted throughout two trials. It was determined that the substance most effective for evaporative cooling was acetone followed by isopropyl alcohol and water. In both trials acetone had an average temperature drop of 19० C. On average isopropyl alcohol dropped 13.5० C while water only dropped 12.5० C. This experiment proved to be effective in determining the substance most effective for evaporative cooling. Although acetone is not a practical substance for objects such as a swamp cooler, acetones significant cooling ability can possibly be used for industrial use. Possible errors that have occurred include not taking the infrequent air conditioning and room temperature into account. Also the humidity within the room was not considered during the experiment.
Evaporation is when a substance experiences a phase change from liquid to gas. Evaporation causes cooling because heat energy is absorbed by molecules. The total energy of a system is calculated by summing up the energy of individual particles. The energy of a molecule in a liquid state is lower than energy of a molecule in a gaseous state. This additional energy is coming from the absorption of heat energy. This concept is used in swamp coolers, which rely on the evaporation of water to cool the air in a room. Evaporation can happen when a liquid is cooled, but happens more often when it is heated. When molecules are heated, the energy increases. In order for evaporation to happen the energy of individual molecules must increase. The energy of the entire system does not need to increase. For example some molecules from a glass of water left at room temperature will evaporate, but not all the water molecules will reach a high enough energy to evaporate. All of the molecules have varying levels of energy. Factors that can alter a molecules level of energy are external temperature, pressure and molecular collisions. The higher temperature will increase the energy of molecules and cause evaporation to speed up. Molecules will move from an area of high pressure to low pressure. This movement is similar to the passive movement of molecules known as diffusion. During diffusion molecules move to even out concentration. Molecules move from high pressure to low pressure in order to reach a balanced pressure. In a liquid molecules bounce about and bump into each other. When they collide, energy is transferred and one molecule ends up with more energy than the other. The increase in energy caused by these collisions allows that molecule to escape liquid form and turn into a gas.
Evaporative cooling is present in nature. Humans use evaporative cooling to reduce body temperature when sweat evaporates from the skin surface. Dogs use evaporative cooling to lower their body temperature when they pant. The most common industrial use of evaporative cooling is the swamp cooler which works by taking in hot, dry air and releasing cool air (Figure 1). Although it would not be appropriate to use isopropyl alcohol or acetone in a swamp cooler to cool a room, because it would release fumes, there may be other uses for these chemicals in evaporative cooling. we would assume that there would be industrial uses for evaporative cooling using chemicals other than water to speed up the process, however we did not find current applications in our research beyond swamp coolers and refrigerator systems.
To analyze the cooling ability of various liquids we first set up four large beakers in a row. We then filled three of the beakers individually with acetone, water, and isopropyl alcohol. The fourth beaker had nothing in it for the controlled variable. We then prepared four thermometers by taping paper towels tightly to the end of the thermometers. Then, with our stopwatch ready, we fully emerged each thermometer in the assigned liquid and then removed it and put it on top of the beaker to observe change in temperature over time. The fourth beaker had a dry control thermometer resting on it. We recorded the temperature each thermometer to start with every 2-5 minutes over a 15 minute period. This allowed us to determine the change in temperature and compare efficiency in cooling. For our second trial the same process and procedures were followed.
To avoid incidents while conducting this experiment the following is required. The student must wear tightly fitting goggles at all times during the lab. All flammable materials and substances being used such as isopropyl alcohol and acetone must be kept away from any flames. The student must also be aware to not substitute glass beakers for plastic containers as the acetone may dissolve it. Finally the proper disposal of acetone and iso sphr phyl alcohol must be executed. The student is not to dispose of either in the sink due to possible damage to the pipes and sink itself.
Through analyzation of the cooling properties of water, acetone and isopropyl alcohol, we concluded that acetone was most effective for evaporative cooling followed by isopropyl alcohol, and water. We completed this lab twice to ensure that our results were consistent and accurate, the figures for both trials are included below and express correlating results. During our lab we created a “control” experiment to compare our fluctuation in Data to. On figures 2 and 3 below, this “control” is shown as the dark green variable, and expresses very little temperature change throughout either trial. The other materials provided varying cooling abilities, which contrast well on the figures below showing clear change in temperature. Both trials revealed that acetone has the greatest evaporative cooling ability with an average temperature drop of 19 degrees. The substance with the second greatest evaporative cooling ability is isopropyl alcohol with an average temperature drop of 13.5 degrees, followed by water with an average temperature drop of 12.5 degrees. Overall, the lab performed provided us with data that reveals the comparative, evaporative cooling abilities of acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and water.
In recent years, Cartilage regeneration was always thought to be the answer to countless medical necessities and desires, however synthetic cartilage has proven to be easier to work with and perform more effectively. This singular breakthrough has the potential to improve the lives of up to 50% of the world population, and should most definitely be pursued. This method could act as an alternative to joint replacement, cure osteoarthritis, which is “the second leading cause of disability in the elderly population in the United States”, mend cartilage damage/ degeneration, and also act as a flawless medium for cosmetic surgery.
In the past, cartilage regeneration was always thought to be impossible due to the nonvascular (tissue without blood vessels & veins nature of cartilage, however recent medical advancements have made it a reality. Cartilage is produced by cells called chondrocytes. When chondrocyte cells are at rest they are inactive, however while a joint is exercised, the corresponding receptors in the chondrocytes cells are increasingly receptive to growth factors produced by the human body. Researchers have denoted,"The receptors involved only appear after 5-20 minutes of repetitive movement," Bodily movement such as the rotation of the hip or flexing of elbow, creates friction which generates heat within the joint. This heat also is a major factor in promoting cell growth.
Many methods exist to regenerate cartilage, but none have reached an optimal success rate. Researchers from “Medical-News “have taken approach to this idea by “implanting a [temperature sensitive] matrix at the site of the damaged cartilage…[coupled with] physical therapy…..to maximize the effect of the [prescribed] medicine.” Another partially successful way to regenerate cartilage is “to introduce intra-articular blood and marrow elements, such as fibrin clot and fibrin glue with marrow elements…..To increase the rate of healing”. This method is referred to as AMS, or augmented Marrow Stimulation, and has been practiced since 2011. An alternative treatment method existing today for cartilage deterioration is Microfracture surgery. Microfracture surgery “is an articular cartilage repair surgical technique that works by creating tiny fractures in the underlying bone. This causes new cartilage to develop from a so-called super-clot.” This treatment exists to regrow the articular cartilage which is present on the ends of bones where they meet at joints in the body. Treating cartilage decomposition is a pressing matter because, “ [articular cartilage] can erode over time or be damaged by injury or overuse, causing pain and lack of mobility.” and actively disables over ⅓ of elderly citizens. Many treatments for cartilage deterioration through cartilage regeneration exist, yet none are considered optimal.
“The major components of the articular cartilage are water, type II collagen, and large aggregating proteogylcans. Other classes of molecules make up a minor, poorly defined, component of cartilage; these include proteins, lipids, phospholipids, and various other minor collagens.” None of these molecules in cartilage are vascular, which makes cartilage regeneration very difficult. In past years, medical researchers have responded to this dilemma by developing synthetic cartilage.
“In 2007 Guilak and his team developed a three-dimensional fabric "scaffold" into which stem cells could be injected and successfully “grown” into articular cartilage tissue. Constructed of minuscule woven fibers” In 2012, a medical researcher named Zhao developed a polymer hydrogel to join stem cells within the scaffolding for more accurate growth. A polymer is the perfect medium for synthetic cartilage, because it is nonconductive within the joint, and not soluble to materials from the human body. “Zhao compares [this process] to pouring concrete over a steel framework.”
Synthetic cartilage application to cosmetic surgery could evolve procedures, and diminish the need to harvest cartilage from elsewhere in the body for a surgical medium. If the scaffolding developed by doctor Zhao was applied to plastic surgery, it could work as a support, overlay, or filler in procedures such as rhinoplasty, cheek and chin implants, and ostoplasty.
Overall both cartilage regeneration, and the development of synthetic cartilage are amazing breakthroughs in medical science, but the production of synthetic cartilage is easier, more effective, and has the magnitude to benefit much more people.
Elevator Pitch:
Greetings, my name is Alex Caplin and I would love to talk to you today about how the production of synthetic cartilage is an easier and more effective treatment to battle cartilage deterioration, than regenerated cartilage. Currently, many methods exist to regenerate cartilage, yet none are considered completely effective. Today 1/3 of elderly people living in America suffer from crippling joint pain due to lack of cartilage within their joints. The production of synthetic cartilage has the magnitude to evolve surgeries that promote joint function, diminish the need to harvest and regenerate cartilage, as well as work as a flawless medium for cosmetic procedures. To successfully produce synthetic cartilage, medical researchers have developed a “three dimensional fabric scaffold in which stem cells could be injected and grown into articular cartilage tissue”. The newest advancement to this medical breakthrough is a polymer hydrogel that could either act as a catalyst for, or even replace stem cells in this procedure. Polymer exists as a perfect medium for the production of synthetic cartilage due to its nonconductive nature, (which would diminish heat friction within the joints) and is insoluble to all bodily materials. This process has been compared to pouring concrete over a steel framework. The production of customly shaped cartilage could be applied to various cosmetic procedures, and act as a paramount surgical medium. This breakthrough could be used as a custom overlay or filler for surgeries such as nose jobs, facial implants, and reconstructive procedures .You should invest in my research because the notion of utilizing synthetic cartilage is epic, and will change the face of medicine in coming years.
Reflection:
The chemistry of different everyday materials has shaped the lives of humans throughout our past, present and will continue to in the future. Our world would be in a completely different place now if everything we used to produce clothing, shoes, technology, houses, cars ect. were produced from the same basic materials. Not only has the development of materials created diversity among belongings, but it has made the creation process easier, more efficient, more affordable, safer, and has increased the reliability of products. For example, if steel was never created to produce buildings, the human kind would be using less optimal materials such as basic rocks, wood, and mud. Using solely pure earth materials would also lead to very rapid resource depletion. Overall, Material advancements have made our world a much safer place and have really given our technology a chance to flourish and expand.
The structure of matter on atomic, molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic levels can determine a materials properties in a variety of ways. Atomically, the position of a material's protons, neutrons, and electrons determine the stability, reactivity, and ability for the atom to bond. Molecular structure and bonding can determine the melting point, hardness, thermal and electrical conductivity, as well as solubility of a material.Microscopic structure of materials can have huge significance on properties of the material. For example, a sodium chloride crystal under a microscope will show very rigid and geometric boundaries within, this signifies ionic bonding and can express to the observer conductivity, a higher melting point, and water solubility. Psychically, macroscopic views of matter could determine characteristics such as color, texture, and essence. Conclusively, different views of matter can showcase its different characteristics.
Additional work:
River Watch Lab Write-up
1. Throughout the process of collecting our field measurements, I had a couple miniscule rules. My main role was to hold the collection containers for Lacey who was in the river gathering water with a large syringe. My secondary role was picking up trash around the AHS campus, among my fellow students and chemistry teacher, in order to make our school a cleaner and more beautiful location.
2. The general procedure for the river watch lab was pretty simple. As a class, we started out by heading down to the river to collect water samples. We collected a water samples to test hardness, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, metals in the solution, and the ph. Afterward, we returned to the classroom, and divvied up roles and prepped stations for our tests. Calvin and I started out by completing the “Hardness Data Sheet” and collecting clean glassware. We filled our graduated cylinder with 50ml of our sample water, and added 15 drops of ammonia buffer to produce a magenta colored liquid. After that, we zeroed our buret, and used it to titrate our liquid with EDTA, swirling with every drop until it turned a deep blue color. We made sure to keep track of the amount of drops needed to transform our previously magenta liquid. We recorded our data, and proceeded to repeat this procedure with our second sample of water and filled out our lab sheet. This test helped our river watch group determine hardness levels in Lightener creek.
3. My partner and I were measuring the hardness of water samples from Lightener Creek. This characteristic is important for the health of the aquatic ecosystem because it can greatly affect the overall ph, and alkalinity of water. Hardness effects aquatic ecosystems by boosting biologic productivity, biomass, and influencing the range of species able to thrive in the water.
4. I would not expect the hardness levels of lightener creek to fluctuate daily, if so it would be extremely difficult to measure such a small change. Over the course on a year, the hardness levels are expected to fluctuate with each coming season. During times of increased runoff, hardness levels are expected to decrease due to water dilution. Equally, the hardness levels are expected to increase in times of low flow. Downstream water also has increased hardness over upstream water due to the fact that is has passed over more soil/substrate.
5. Significant behaviors present in the Lightener Creek hardness graph, were specific spikes in the spring and fall months, with pretty drastic drops inbetween. These trends most likely exist, because with the increased rainfall, the stream water travels over more ground and picks up more sediment over time.
Energy & Place:
1 How does energy production and consumption impact place?
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic, and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions relating to energy production an consumption.
Scientific Paper:
In this experiment the evaluation of various substances coolant ability through evaporation was used to determine which substance is most effective for evaporative cooling The objective was to find the substance that most decreased thermal energy through evaporation similar to a swamp cooler. Different thermometer were submerged into three substances being water, isopropyl alcohol, and acetone. The initial thermometer temperature were recorded before submerging them into the substances. From there the temperature on each thermometer was recording every 2-5 minutes over a 15 minute period. This was conducted throughout two trials. It was determined that the substance most effective for evaporative cooling was acetone followed by isopropyl alcohol and water. In both trials acetone had an average temperature drop of 19० C. On average isopropyl alcohol dropped 13.5० C while water only dropped 12.5० C. This experiment proved to be effective in determining the substance most effective for evaporative cooling. Although acetone is not a practical substance for objects such as a swamp cooler, acetones significant cooling ability can possibly be used for industrial use. Possible errors that have occurred include not taking the infrequent air conditioning and room temperature into account. Also the humidity within the room was not considered during the experiment.
Evaporation is when a substance experiences a phase change from liquid to gas. Evaporation causes cooling because heat energy is absorbed by molecules. The total energy of a system is calculated by summing up the energy of individual particles. The energy of a molecule in a liquid state is lower than energy of a molecule in a gaseous state. This additional energy is coming from the absorption of heat energy. This concept is used in swamp coolers, which rely on the evaporation of water to cool the air in a room. Evaporation can happen when a liquid is cooled, but happens more often when it is heated. When molecules are heated, the energy increases. In order for evaporation to happen the energy of individual molecules must increase. The energy of the entire system does not need to increase. For example some molecules from a glass of water left at room temperature will evaporate, but not all the water molecules will reach a high enough energy to evaporate. All of the molecules have varying levels of energy. Factors that can alter a molecules level of energy are external temperature, pressure and molecular collisions. The higher temperature will increase the energy of molecules and cause evaporation to speed up. Molecules will move from an area of high pressure to low pressure. This movement is similar to the passive movement of molecules known as diffusion. During diffusion molecules move to even out concentration. Molecules move from high pressure to low pressure in order to reach a balanced pressure. In a liquid molecules bounce about and bump into each other. When they collide, energy is transferred and one molecule ends up with more energy than the other. The increase in energy caused by these collisions allows that molecule to escape liquid form and turn into a gas.
Evaporative cooling is present in nature. Humans use evaporative cooling to reduce body temperature when sweat evaporates from the skin surface. Dogs use evaporative cooling to lower their body temperature when they pant. The most common industrial use of evaporative cooling is the swamp cooler which works by taking in hot, dry air and releasing cool air (Figure 1). Although it would not be appropriate to use isopropyl alcohol or acetone in a swamp cooler to cool a room, because it would release fumes, there may be other uses for these chemicals in evaporative cooling. we would assume that there would be industrial uses for evaporative cooling using chemicals other than water to speed up the process, however we did not find current applications in our research beyond swamp coolers and refrigerator systems.
To analyze the cooling ability of various liquids we first set up four large beakers in a row. We then filled three of the beakers individually with acetone, water, and isopropyl alcohol. The fourth beaker had nothing in it for the controlled variable. We then prepared four thermometers by taping paper towels tightly to the end of the thermometers. Then, with our stopwatch ready, we fully emerged each thermometer in the assigned liquid and then removed it and put it on top of the beaker to observe change in temperature over time. The fourth beaker had a dry control thermometer resting on it. We recorded the temperature each thermometer to start with every 2-5 minutes over a 15 minute period. This allowed us to determine the change in temperature and compare efficiency in cooling. For our second trial the same process and procedures were followed.
To avoid incidents while conducting this experiment the following is required. The student must wear tightly fitting goggles at all times during the lab. All flammable materials and substances being used such as isopropyl alcohol and acetone must be kept away from any flames. The student must also be aware to not substitute glass beakers for plastic containers as the acetone may dissolve it. Finally the proper disposal of acetone and iso sphr phyl alcohol must be executed. The student is not to dispose of either in the sink due to possible damage to the pipes and sink itself.
Through analyzation of the cooling properties of water, acetone and isopropyl alcohol, we concluded that acetone was most effective for evaporative cooling followed by isopropyl alcohol, and water. We completed this lab twice to ensure that our results were consistent and accurate, the figures for both trials are included below and express correlating results. During our lab we created a “control” experiment to compare our fluctuation in Data to. On figures 2 and 3 below, this “control” is shown as the dark green variable, and expresses very little temperature change throughout either trial. The other materials provided varying cooling abilities, which contrast well on the figures below showing clear change in temperature. Both trials revealed that acetone has the greatest evaporative cooling ability with an average temperature drop of 19 degrees. The substance with the second greatest evaporative cooling ability is isopropyl alcohol with an average temperature drop of 13.5 degrees, followed by water with an average temperature drop of 12.5 degrees. Overall, the lab performed provided us with data that reveals the comparative, evaporative cooling abilities of acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and water.
Project Reflection:
````Through creating my info-graphic I was trying to convey how evaporative cooling is a very energy effective way of cooling, and should be used as the main form of air conditioning. My info-graphic highlights the obscene amount of energy used to produce air conditioning electrically, as well as the associated carbon emissions. It also includes a comparison of evaporative cooling to single-room cooling, this shows how evaporative cooling is much more energy effective than single-room cooling, but is not applicable in all situations. The center of my poster depicts the massive amount of money (11B) that American homeowners spend on air conditioning every year. The quote about electrical use and carbon emission is in place to inform readers on the large amount of energy being used for something that can be substituted for evaporative cooling. I chose this topic because I thought the amount of energy used to mimic a natural process is insane and unnecessary.
````By researching, designing, conducting, analyzing, and writing my own investigation, I got a new insight on the complexity, and uniqueness of the nature of science. following the lab production and execution, my perspective about science and scientists have changed. I have realized the freedom and innovation associated with the sciences. Scientists are able to conduct experiments that directly address their questions about why things are the way they are. This type of freedom is curios, always pushing scientists to investigate "the next thing". Science also includes such an array of thing creating possible experiments in any medium. Overall, researching, designing, conducting, analyzing, and writing my own investigation gave me a new interest and appreciation for the nature of science.
Sense of Place Project: http://adcdp.weebly.com/humanities.html
````Through creating my info-graphic I was trying to convey how evaporative cooling is a very energy effective way of cooling, and should be used as the main form of air conditioning. My info-graphic highlights the obscene amount of energy used to produce air conditioning electrically, as well as the associated carbon emissions. It also includes a comparison of evaporative cooling to single-room cooling, this shows how evaporative cooling is much more energy effective than single-room cooling, but is not applicable in all situations. The center of my poster depicts the massive amount of money (11B) that American homeowners spend on air conditioning every year. The quote about electrical use and carbon emission is in place to inform readers on the large amount of energy being used for something that can be substituted for evaporative cooling. I chose this topic because I thought the amount of energy used to mimic a natural process is insane and unnecessary.
````By researching, designing, conducting, analyzing, and writing my own investigation, I got a new insight on the complexity, and uniqueness of the nature of science. following the lab production and execution, my perspective about science and scientists have changed. I have realized the freedom and innovation associated with the sciences. Scientists are able to conduct experiments that directly address their questions about why things are the way they are. This type of freedom is curios, always pushing scientists to investigate "the next thing". Science also includes such an array of thing creating possible experiments in any medium. Overall, researching, designing, conducting, analyzing, and writing my own investigation gave me a new interest and appreciation for the nature of science.
Sense of Place Project: http://adcdp.weebly.com/humanities.html