11 million takeover day
lesson plan
How layers of fat can insulate animals and unsuspecting volunteers, keeping them warm in very cold water.
learning outcomes
In this lesson your students will learn that:
Icy water is very cold and, unprotected, a person cannot keep their hand in it for long.
Lard (fat) is a very good insulator from the cold.
equipment
A display to show the Scicast 'Blubber Glove' experiment.
Four waterproof plastic bags, big enough to get your hand in, eg freezer bags. (Or you can use rubber/latex gloves, check no-one’s allergic though.)
Parcel tape
A big bowl of ice and water - good and ch-ch-chilly
A few packs of solid vegetable fat, at room temperature
A spoon (unless you really want to get your hands dirty!)
the lesson
Using the introductory notes, set up the 'Blubber Glove' experiment before the class starts.
Tell the class what each piece of equipment is.
Explain why the water becomes cold when ice is added to it.
Show that you have lard, and state that lard is an insulator.
Explain what an insulator is: useful for both keeping warm objects warm and cold objects cold.
Ask for a volunteer to help with the experiment before showing the film to your students.
Show the ‘Blubber Glove’ Scicast film to the class.
Repeat the experiment in front of the class. Follow the instructions for the experiment with your volunteer to prove that the lard does act as an insulator. If you have time you can get another person to volunteer too: perhaps they can keep their hand in the cold water longer?
Explain to the class that some Arctic and Antarctic animals use layers of fat to keep them warm.
Use the worksheets to find out if everyone was paying attention!