P2.

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Thermal conductivity
Specification reference:
 P1.2.1 Energy transfers in a system

Aims
In this exercise, you will encounter the term thermal conductivity and will explain
its significance when dealing with factors that affect the rate at which buildings
cool down, warm up, or retain their heat.

Learning outcomes
After completing this activity, you should be able to:
 state what is meant by thermal conductivity
 describe how the rate of cooling depends on the thickness of walls
 describe how the rate of cooling depends on the thermal conductivity of walls.

Questions
1 The graph below shows how the temperature will change inside rooms in two
identical houses that have walls made from the same material. However the
houses have walls of different thicknesses.

a i Label the curves with ‘thin wall’ and ‘thick wall’ to show which line on
the graph represents each wall. (1 mark)
ii Explain your answer to part a i.

(1 mark)

b i Draw another curve on the graph to show what would happen if

another ‘very thick’ wall was used as part of the investigation. (2 marks)

ii Draw a fourth curve on the graph to show how the temperature would
change over time for a thin wall with a large hole in it. (2 marks)

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c Explain why the starting temperature of the inside of both houses was the
same at the start of the experiment.

(2 marks)

2 The graph below shows how the temperature changes for two walls of the
same thickness, but made from materials with different thermal conductivities.

a Explain what the graph tells you about how quickly energy is transferred
through materials with different thermal conductivites.

(3 marks)

b Describe how the experiment conducted was made fair.

(2 marks)

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c The table below shows the values of thermal conductivities for a number of
materials.

Material Relative thermal conductivity

concrete 1.0
brick 1.31
glass 0.96
wood 0.17
fibreglass 0.04
(roof insulation) foam 0.03
(wall insulation) aerogel 0.004

i The house that cooled down the slowest has walls made from concrete.
What material were the walls of the house that cooled down the fastest
made of?

(1 mark)

ii Explain your answer.

(3 marks)

d Fill in the gaps in the following paragraph:

A material that has a high thermal conductivity allows energy transfer through

it at a ........................ rate than a material with a low conductivity. Materials

that will allow energy transfer through them quickly include ........................

and ........................ . Materials with ........................ thermal conductivities are

........................ conductors and will not allow energy to transfer through them

at a fast rate. Two examples of these materials from the table are

........................ and ........................ . (7 marks)

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