Chris Ziemba

Lab
Keep Your Cool

Problem:
Design a device large enough to hold a human heart that will serve as an Organ
Transplant Container. Your device cannot have an outside dimension that exceeds 30 cm x 25cm
x 25cm. The challenge is to have the lowest calculated heat flow rate. You may use any materials
you bring in and ice to help keep the organ cool. Calculate the rate of heat loss for the 23 hour
period. Find k experimentally using the energy change in the heart.

Objective:
Students will study the rate of heat transfer.

Materials:
• Wood • Sheep heart
• Aluminum • Ice
• Fiberglass insulation • Temperature Probe/Data Studio

Formulas:
• Q= mcΔT
• Q/t= [kA(ΔT)]/l
• R=l/k

Procedure:
1.) Build your container with r values in mind.
2.) Place a probe into the heart and fill the container with ice
3.) Set up data studio to record the change in temperature with the probe
Data:

Q=mcΔT
Q=(2236g)(4.186 joule/gram-°C)(2.32°C)
Q=21714.96 joules flowed

Q/t= [kA(ΔT)]/l
K=((Q*l)/(t*A*ΔT))
K=((21714.96J *.02m)/(86400s*5.27m^2*2.32°C))
K=(434.3J-m)/(1056360.96 s-m^2-°C)
K=.00041 (J-m)/(s-m^2-°C)

Analysis:
• Energy was lost from the organ when it cooled down from its initial temperature,
although our data does not support that the organ was below zero at any point, it probably
did. The energy flowed through conduction from the organ to the ice and the ice to the
surrounding bag, then the bag to the aluminum, and the aluminum to the wood, and
finally to the environment.
• The r value:
o R=l/k
 R=(.02m)/(.00041 (J-m)/(s-m^2-°C))
 R= 48.78
• There was very little human error as it is expected that our devices would not be perfect.
• The purpose of the experiment is to apply heat transfer laws in a mock organ transplant
with household materials.
• The limits of the lab equipment are actually very few, the temperature readings are all
very accurate.
• The only equipment that can improve the accuracy of this experiment would be a much
more sensitive temperature probe.
• Temperature(C) vs Time(s):
 o Slope: Celsius / second, doesn’t say much other than how fast the temperature
changed.
o Area: insignificant Celsius-second
o R value: 0.0654
• Heat Change (J) vs Time(s):
o Slope: J/s which is power and shows how quickly energy was transferred.
o Area: J-s, while angular momentum is not significant to this heat exchange.
• Linear because the temperature change was uniform.
• While the points did not match the points perfectly I believe they are still an accurate
representation. There were oscillations in random intervals due to the small fluctuations
in the measuring device.
• Having the data not fully gathered throughout the course of the 23 hours, while not
exactly error, did not allow us to get an accurate starting temperature so we were forced
to generalize it to zero degrees Celsius where it could have been less.

Conclusion: