PBL Narrative Essay
My 2013-2014 PBL assignment was a sort of success. Like most people, instead of doing an Algebra ll PBL, I chose to do a level lll Chemistry PBL. A level lll PBL is where you can basically make up any chemistry based project idea and plan an experiment on it. In this case, my project idea was hand warmers. How they work and how long it takes one to heat up to its complete maximum temperature, were the questions I was researching.
I chose hand warmers because even as a kid, I remember wondering what made hand warmers get so warm so quickly. As I think back, I remember thinking it was magic or some kind of witchcraft. Also another reason I wanted to learn more about hand warmers was because while living in Buffalo, New York, the temperature got down to about 9 degrees Fahrenheit and that was close to the normal temperature for us when living there. So hand warmers were a much adored necessity for all who lived there.
Going back to my PBL assignment, the procedures for my experiment were pretty simple. I basically observed how long it took for a single untampered with hand warmer took to heat up completely. The other hand warmer I cut the top off of so that I could expose the contents of the hand warmer to oxygen. My results were that the hand warmer exposed to air took about 45 mins to heat up completely and the one not exposed to oxygen took about 2 hrs and 30 mins to heat up completely. The temperatures would fluctuate from almost reaching maximum temperature, to decreasing like ten degrees. All in all, I do believe that it took a total of 3 hrs and 25 mins for both hand warmers combined to heat up to max temp.
To conduct my research, I set up my materials and activated a hand warmer and began to calculate the amount of time it took to heat up fully. After my calculations and observations were completed for that hand warmer, I did the same for the one exposed to oxygen. After both studies were completed, I made a graph and recorded my data.
If I had to apply my observational and experimental findings to real-world use, my assignment might impact the world by allowing a scientific opening to the development of new efficient ways to provide easy warmth to those in need of it. Whether that be the soldiers in war across the world or simply a family living in a state whose temperature never rises above 43 degrees Fahrenheit.