the strange silos:
surface area / volume relationships
You made two silos with the same sheet of paper -- tall and thin vs short and fat -- and filled them with sand
- observe: describe the discrepancy
- measure: how much more ?
- collect data:
is a short / fat always > tall / skinny ?
- infer: how volume relates area of paper
- hypothesize:
how does "fat" overcompensates for "short"
- experiment: make different silos
concept application
- elephant ears: filled with blood vessels - air conditioning
- trees are round: maximum volume for least possible change for damage
- red blood cell shape: bi-concave for maximum gas exchange
- JC Penney's floor plan: large area for eye / physical contact
- boiling: cut up potatoes: more hot water touches the food
- baking: cake tin size: oven times depend on the size / shape of tin
- dimetrodon's 'sail/fin': exotic air conditioner
- gigantothermy: rabbits vs. elephants & dinosaurs, too
- nomograph - skin area: how much sun block / oil do you need
- soap film geometry: collapses to the least amount of surface area
- cold / hot bed sheets & skin: want to cool off or stay warm?
- alka- vs bromo-seltzer: one dissoves faster than the other
- terry cloth towels: all those little pieces absorb water
- pot holes are round-ish: the least surface area
- hot water radiator 'fins' - spreading the heat around
- silos: cylinders > prisms: so silos are cylinders
- water towers: spheres > cylinders: so towers are spheres
- fast heartbeats - humming birds & babies: the price of warm bloodedness
- bacteria - line vs clump growth: conserve or radiate the heat
- squeeze the cup = spill the coffee: many gallons overflow every day
- pizza prices (area only): do two 6" pizzas = one 12" pizza?
- Franklin School modules: many outside walls
- home heating / cooling ($$$): how heat efficient is your home ?
11/ 11st / 95 - 3 / 7r / 96