Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
I. Prelaboratory Activity
What to do:
1. Pour equal parts of tap water and rubbing alcohol into the bottle, filling about 1/8 to a 1/4 of the bottle.
2. Add a couple of drops of food coloring and mix.
3. Put the straw in the bottle, but don't let the straw touch the bottom.
4. Use the modeling clay to seal the neck of the bottle, so the straw stays in place.
5. Now hold your hands on the bottle and watch what happens to the mixture in the bottle.
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Activity B. Wet Air: Measuring relative humidity
Humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor in air. If air temperature is 20°C, each cubic meter of air can
contain up to 17 g of water vapor. If there is only 8.5 g of water vapor per cubic meter at 20°C, we say the relative humidity
is 50%. Humidity can have a strong influence on how comfortable we feel. Combinations of high temperature and high
humidity can be very uncomfortable. Physical activity and exposure to direct sunlight can also increase heat stress.
Safety: Handle thermometers carefully. Students shouldn’t try to clean up the mess if a thermometer breaks. Use a
mercury spill-kit or throw sulfur over the mercury and clean it up wearing gloves and using a brush and pan.
Don’t touch mercury; it is a poisonous metal.
What to do:
1. Wrap the cotton wool around the bulb of each thermometer. Secure it with a rubber band.
2. Dip one of the wrapped bulbs in water.
3. Gently fan the wet bulb thermometer until the temperature reaches a minimum.
4. Compare the reading of the wet-bulb thermometer and the dry-bulb thermometer.
5. Record the difference in the two readings.
6. Read the relative humidity from Table 1. The numbers on the side of the chart represent the dry bulb
temperature. The numbers at the top represent the difference between the dry and wet bulb temperature.
Measurements are in °C. The point at which the row and the column intersect is the percentage humidity in the
air. For example, if the dry bulb temperature is 20ºC, and the wet bulb temperature is lower by 5.5ºC, then the
humidity is 55%. Repeat the exercise in the air-conditioned room and outside the building (preferably in an open
area under the sun). Record your findings in Table 2.
Living in the tropics, we realize that warm, dry air seems more comfortable than warm, very moist air (unless it is
too dry). An extremely humid, warm day makes one think the temperature is higher than it really is, while an extremely hot,
dry day may seem to be cooler than the thermometer indicates.
One approach to describing the combined effects of temperature and humidity is the heat index. To alert the
public to the dangers of extended periods of exposure to heat and the added effects of humidity, the American National
Weather Service has developed a "Heat Index" table. Figure 1 shows a graphic representation of this table.
What to do:
1. Convert the dry bulb temperature readings in the previous activity (corresponding to the three locations) in oF.
2. To determine the heat index, find the temperature (in oF) along the y-axis and the relative humidity (from the
preceding activity) on the upper x-axis. Where the two intersect is the apparent temperature or the heat index in oF.
3. Convert this value to oC. Record your findings in Table 3.
4. The following table below shows the possible heat disorder especially for old people who are more vulnerable to the ill
effects of extreme temperature conditions.
Heat Index ( oC) Possible heat disorders for people in higher risk groups
26.67 to 32.22 Fatigue possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity.
Sunstroke, heat cramps, or heat exhaustion are possible with prolonged exposure
32.22 to 40.56
and/or physical activity.
Sunstroke, heat cramps, or heat exhaustion are likely, and heatstroke is possible, with
40.56 to 54.44
prolonged exposure and/or physical activity.
54.44 and higher Heatstroke or sunstroke is highly likely with continued exposure.
References:
1
Energy Quest Web Site, http://www.energy.ca.gov/education/.
2
Weather and Air Activities Booklet, Cooperative Research Centre for Southern Hemisphere Meteorology, 1998.
3
National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Education Web Site, http://www.education.noaa.gov/.
DATA SHEET
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Activity A. Make your own thermometer
Q 1: Explain your observation in procedure no. 5 above.
As you hold the bottle with your hands, the mixture in the bottle starts to rise inside the straw.
Q 2: What is the purpose of adding alcohol to the mixture? Will the experiment work if only tap water is used?
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Activity B. Wet Air: Measuring relative humidity
Q 3: Complete Table 2.
Table 2. Date for determining the relative humidity at different locations.
Location Dry Bulb Temperature Dry - Wet Bulb Temp Relative Humidity
( oC) ( oC) (%)
Air-conditioned room 28 18.5 40
Open area under the sun 30 21 44
Q 4: Why does the wet bulb thermometer register a lower temperature than the dry bulb thermometer?
The wet bulb thermometer is reading the temperature of the wet material around the bulb not the air temperature.
Since the cotton wrapped around the bulb is wet, evaporation occurs and the energetic molecules leave the liquid.
The reduction of the energetic molecules results into lower temperature of the wet bulb.
< "Why Does a Wet Bulb Thermometer Read Lower than a Dry?" WikiAnswers. Answers, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.>
Q 5: Which has the lowest relative humidity among the three locations? Why? How does the air conditioner affect the
relative humidity in the room?
The air-conditioned room has the lowest relative humidity. It is because there is less moisture in the air. Cool air
cannot hold so much moisture because cooler air is denser compared to a warmer air. Being denser means having less
space for the moisture.
Q 6: Note from the table that for a given dry-bulb temperature, the relative humidity is higher when the temperature
difference between the wet bulb and the dry bulb is small. Why is this so?
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DATA SHEET
Activity C. Heat Index 3
Q 7: CompleteTable 3.
Q 8: What are the possible heat disorders associated with the heat indices that you determined?
Fatigue possible with prolonged exposure and/or physical activity
Q 9: While in England, where the weather is normally dry, you notice that at 90 oF or 32.22oC you feel cooler than the
temperature that is recorded in the thermometer. Here in the Philippines, however, this temperature can be quite
uncomfortable already. Using Figure 1, explain why this is so.
It is because the relative humidity in England is lower since their weather is normally dry. The dryer the air, the
less moisture there is in the air.
Q 10: Within what range of values of relative humidity will 90 oF (32.22oC) feel cooler than it actually is (i.e, the apparent
temperature < actual temperature)?