Which Solar Cooker Can Capture the Most Heat?

Question: Which solar cooker can capture the most heat?

Goal: My goal is to get the temperature over 100* F.

Procedure:

1. Construct 3 solar cookers out of materials such as black construction paper, pizza boxes, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap.

2. Measure starting temp of box with thermometer.

3. Put box under heat lamp.

4. Wait 30 mins.

5. Measure final temperature.

6. Find temperature change.

7. Repeat 100 times.

Data Analysis: I will take the numbers for each solar cooker and average them. Find average temperature change of each design, then compare with a bar graph.

Abstract

Which Solar Cooker Can Capture the Most Heat?

I wanted to investigate the solar cooker that would trap the most heat. I did this by making three solar cookers that were each very different. My goal for this project was to get the temperature over 100 degrees fahrenheit. I chose this topic because if the temperature got to a certain point, it could cook food. This would mean that the world could use less electricity, which would lower global warming.

To do this experiment I first gathered 3 pizza boxes. I then made them into 3 solar cookers which were shaped as a sphere, rectangle, and a square. In addition, I then put black construction paper in each solar cooker to capture more heat. I made sure that it covered up most of the area the heat lamp would hit. Next, I put a thermometer on top of the construction paper. I then put plastic wrap on top of the solar cooker to trap the heat, making sure that it was firmly stuck on the solar cooker. Additionally, I then measured the starting temperature. Then, I put the solar cooker under a heat lamp and waited 30 minutes. In addition, I then measured the final temperature. Next, I found the temperature change. Furthermore, I then let the solar cooker air out. Lastly, I repeated this 100 times for each of the three solar cooker.

When I was collecting my data, I noticed that the sphere like solar cooker’s final temperature was much higher than the other solar cookers. In addition, I also noticed that the sphere like solar cooker had the highest temperature change. Furthermore, the starting temperature were mainly the same for every test on each solar cooker. Additionally, the temperature change for the first solar cooker was 5°F. The temperature change for the next solar cooker was 26°F, and the temperature change for the third solar cooker was 15°F.

By doing this project, I learned that a solar cooker can have a very high temperature, which could potentially replace things like microwaves, and ovens. I did successfully meet my goal because while I was testing the sphere solar cooker, one of the tests got a temperature of 100 degrees fahrenheit. There are possible errors in my experiment like the solar cookers. For example, the holes on the side could have been better patched to not let as much air out, while the heat lamp was on the thermometer. My experiment was very accurate because I tested each design 100 times. This would mean that the average would be more likely to be true because of how many tests there were.

Conclusion: I learned that a solar cooker can have a very high temperature through experimenting. While I was testing, I did successfully reach my goal of getting the temperature over 100°F. This happened while I was testing my sphere solar cooker. There could be errors in my project that could do with the solar cookers. For instance the holes on the sides of the solar cookers could have been patched better, so that it wouldn’t let as much air out while I was testing. Since I tested my design 100 times, my experiment was very accurate. This would mean that the average temperature change would be more accurate because of how many times I tested.

Data:

Data