Investigating Which Alcohol Is the Best Fuel
AIM: I am carrying out an investigation to see which alcohol is the best fuel. I will do this by experimenting with different alcohols and setting them alight and measuring different factors. I will analyse all my results and try to discover patterns, which should help me to conclude which alcohol is the best fuel.
PLAN
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This is how my experiment will be set out:
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Keeping this experiment a fair test
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There are many variables in this experiment that can effect the outcome of this experiment. The dependant variables that I will keep the same will be the height of the tin can above the wick. I will keep this the same because different heights can effect the heat that is transferred to the tin can and into the water, therefore altering the temperature change. I will use the same tin can so that the experiment is fair and that different cans may be of different thicknesses so allowing different amounts of heat through. I will keep the amount of water that I put inside the tin can, the same for each experiment to be fair. I will decide on this amount from my preliminary experiment.
The time for each experiment will also be kept the same to ensure the water has had equal amounts of time for it to heat up, again I will decide on the time from my preliminary experiment. The independent variables that I am measuring are the weight of the alcohol in the burner, both before and after the experiment, and also the temperature difference from before and after the experiments. I will also make sure that I take the lid off of the burner as late as possible, only when the burner it to be lit. This is because when the lid comes off a smell is released, so some gas is released which could alter my readings for the mass. This will also apply when replacing the lid after the experiment. I will make sure I keep this experiment fair by
PLAN
====
This is how my experiment will be set out:
==========================================
Keeping this experiment a fair test
===================================
There are many variables in this experiment that can effect the outcome of this experiment. The dependant variables that I will keep the same will be the height of the tin can above the wick. I will keep this the same because different heights can effect the heat that is transferred to the tin can and into the water, therefore altering the temperature change. I will use the same tin can so that the experiment is fair and that different cans may be of different thicknesses so allowing different amounts of heat through. I will keep the amount of water that I put inside the tin can, the same for each experiment to be fair. I will decide on this amount from my preliminary experiment.
The time for each experiment will also be kept the same to ensure the water has had equal amounts of time for it to heat up, again I will decide on the time from my preliminary experiment. The independent variables that I am measuring are the weight of the alcohol in the burner, both before and after the experiment, and also the temperature difference from before and after the experiments. I will also make sure that I take the lid off of the burner as late as possible, only when the burner it to be lit. This is because when the lid comes off a smell is released, so some gas is released which could alter my readings for the mass. This will also apply when replacing the lid after the experiment. I will make sure I keep this experiment fair by