5.7 HSW: Amazing AerogelJanuary 11, 2011

Write down as many different

types of insulation as you can.

Aims

• Explain why Aerogel is a good insulator [LEVEL 4]

• Apply knowledge of Aerogel to explain why it is used in certain application [LEVEL 5]

• Describe the use of the properties of a range of materials in combination to create a design [LEVEL 7]

5.7 Amazing Aerogel Questions

1. Look at the diagram at the top of page 83 of insulation round a pipe. Why would testing the two materials as shown in the diagram not be a fair test?

3. Jasmine says that you could use a sheet of Aerogel between sheets of glass in oven doors to make them safer. Do you think she is right? Explain your answer.

5. Aerogel is a much better insulator than fibreglass. Suggest a reason why we still use fibreglass as insulation in houses instead of using Aerogel.

1 of 2

(Level 4)

(Level 6)

(Level 5)

5.7 Amazing Aerogel Questions

1. Thinking carefully about conditions in space, can you think of another use of Aerogel in spacecraft apart from collecting space dust? Explain your answer.

3. When the Stardust spacecraft heats up as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere, the dust in the Aerogel that it carries does not heat up. Explain why. (Hint: think about what Aerogel is made from.)

2 of 2

(Level 7)

(Level 8)