ENGINEERING FAIR PROJECT

By: Corine Bennett

How does the color of a building affect the indoor temperature?

Purpose

Can Your House's Color Reduce Your Summer

Energy Bill?

Research

If you are going to cut the grass in the summer, you wouldn’t wear a black shirt. You would get too hot.

“A black object absorbs all wavelengths of light and converts them into heat, so the object gets warm.”

“…white, on the other hand, reflect all wavelengths of light and therefore absorb the least heat.”

The more pigment an object has the more it will absorb light energy.

Hypothesis & Variables

If I paint a house black, then the indoor temperature will be greater

than a house painted white. Independent Variable – Color of house

Dependent Variable – TemperatureControlled Variables – house size and materials, placement of houses, time

outside, thermometer

Materials I Used

2 sheets each of Black, white and purple construction paper

One pair of Scissors Three cereal boxes 20.5oz size Transparent Tape 3 Thermometers A sunny spot outside on a day that was 70 degrees Fahrenheit

Procedures

1. Cover one cereal box with 3 sheets of black construction paper using transparent tape.

2. Cover one cereal box with 3 sheets of white construction paper using transparent tape.

3. Cover one cereal box with 3 sheets of purple construction paper using transparent tape.

4. Put a thermometer in each box, close it, and take it outside.5. Place the boxes in the sunny spot you picked. Leave it there

for 30 minutes.6. After 30 minutes, open the box and quickly read and record

the temperature on the thermometer. 7. Put the thermometer in the shade somewhere near the box

(still outside). After it has adjusted to the shade, read and record the temperature.

8. Repeat steps 4-7 two more times for each colored box on two different days.

Results – 1st Trial

Black House White House Purple House Shade0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Indoor Temperature of Houses

Colored Houses & Shade

Tem

pera

ture

in F

ahre

nhei

t

Results – 2nd Trial

Black House White House Purple House Shade0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Indoor Temperature of Houses

Colored Houses & Shade

Tem

pera

ture

in F

ahre

nheit

Results – 3rd Trial

Indoor Temperature of Houses

Black House White House Purple House Shade0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Indoor Temperature of Houses

Colored Houses & Shade

Tem

pera

ture

in F

ahre

nheit

Results - Average

Black House White House Purple House Shade0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Indoor Temperature of Houses

Colored Houses & Shade

Tem

pera

ture

in F

ahre

nhei

t

6665

8275

Graph Variation

Black House White House Purple House Shade0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Indoor Temperature of Houses

1st Trial2nd Trial3rd TrialAverage

Colored Houses and Shade

Tem

pera

ture

in F

ahre

nhei

t

Conclusion

The white box was the coolest inside, compared with the temperature in the shade nearby. The black box absorbed the most light, and this energy was transferred inside of the box over time and warmed up the thermometer. The black box was the hottest compared with the temperature in the shade. The purple box absorbed some light, so it also warmed up, but its temperature was somewhere in between those of the black and white boxes.

My hypothesis was if I paint a house black, then the indoor temperature will be greater than a house painted white. My results do support my hypothesis.

If I had to do this experiment again I would pick different colors to test or test indoor temperature depending on house shape.

Bibliography

VanCleave, Janice Pratt. Chemistry for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments That Really Work. New York: Wiley, 1989. Print.

Science Buddies. "Simmering Science: Can Your House's Color Reduce Your Summer Energy Bill?" Scientific American. Nature America, 26 July 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-house-color-heat/>.

University of California. "Which Colors Absorb the Most Heat? Why Is This? Does a Bright Color like Yellow Absorb a Lot of Heat?" UCSB Science Line. National Science Fountation, 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. <http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1464>.

http://www.easybib.com/

Log Book

Project Board (Neat & Organized)

Inserting Images into Prezi or PPT https://prezi.com/support/article/creating

/inserting-images/?lang=en

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/import-photos-videos

Hero’s Engine http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/newton-law-motion-action-reaction/

Engineering Fair Project - Grading Rubric

 

_____ Purpose/Title stated (10 pts) _____ Problem/Question stated (10 pts) _____ Hypothesis in complete sentence (10 pts) _____ Materials listed (10 pts)  _____ Procedures listed in order (10 pts) _____ Results graphed (10 pts) _____ Conclusion in complete sentences (10 pts) _____ Bibliography included and correctly formatted

(10 pts) _____ Neat/Organized (10 pts) _____ Presented in a clear manner. Knowledge of subject matter was evident. (10 pts) _____ Total (counts as a test grade)