![]() Mark each different temperature on the outside of the bottle. Play around with the thermometer by placing it in cooler and warmer areas or in different temperature water baths. ![]() (If using clay, make sure it completely covers the opening, creating an airtight seal, as shown in Figure 1.)Ĭopyright © 2005 Teresa Ellis, University of Colorado at Boulder ![]() At the opening of the bottle, secure the straw with the rubber stopper, creating an airtight seal.Place the straw in the bottle so that it is almost touching the bottom.Screw on the cap and swirl the bottle to adequately mix the water and food coloring. Add a few drops of red food coloring to the liquid.Add rubbing alcohol so the bottle is now one-quarter of the way full (equal parts water and alcohol).Fill the bottle about one eighth of the way full with cold water.Peel any labels off the plastic/glass bottle.Divide the class into groups of two students each.Gather materials and make copies of the Temperature Conversion Worksheet.Today is your chance to make your very own thermometer and see it in action! We are going to study how a thermometer measures temperature and discuss how this relates to our body's immune system. It is important for engineers to design devices that will help our immune system maintain a safe temperature in our body and still kill harmful bacteria and viruses. Other engineers help design systems to keep the air we breathe and the water we drink healthy, and yet others develop the instruments to monitor our health at the hospital or doctor's office. Engineers also help develop the vaccinations, antibiotics and disinfectants to help kill germs before they can invade your body. In fact, engineers have developed many of the instruments that help doctors diagnose and treat diseases. Today engineers have developed machines that calibrate thermometers while they are being made.Įngineers need to know about the immune system and how it works. Then, the thermometer was placed in boiling water and that temperature was marked. The very first thermometer was calibrated by sticking it in freezing water and marking where the fluid was. Degrees are the units of temperature similar to how meters are units of length. The final step is calibrating the thermometer (dividing the tube into degrees, either Fahrenheit or Celsius). The interior mercury tube has a bulb at the end of it that is placed on an object to obtain its temperature (that is, under your tongue if you are sick and want to know your temperature). To see the liquid shrinking or expanding, the mercury is placed in a narrow tube (contained inside a wider-diameter glass tube) to magnify the changes that occur. Mercury is the most common fluid used due to its low freezing point, and high boiling point. So how does a thermometer know how hot your body really is (that is, your temperature)? Bulb thermometers contain a type of fluid that changes volume relative to its temperature: heat makes the fluid expand (take up more space), while the cold makes it shrink (take up less space). To check if your body has a fever, your parents or a medical practitioner uses a thermometer. However, if a fever is too high, it can cause physical damage or even death, so often it is necessary to reduce a fever by using cooling baths, cloths or packs, or medications. By raising your body's temperature, certain bacteria and viruses that are sensitive to temperature changes are destroyed (killed by the higher than normal temperature). Fevers are thought to be one way that the immune system defends itself against germs and infection. When your body temperature rises, it is called a fever. Have you ever wondered why your parents take your temperature to see if you are sick? They are checking to see if your body is hotter than it should be (98.6☏ is considered normal). Research Report Rubric (pdf) Visit [ to print or download.Ĭonducting the associated Fighting Back! (lesson 10) of this unit is helpful, but not required.
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