Stone Cold Models: Thermoregulation on Inanimate Objects

Abstract

Often, organisms who are larger stay warm longer than organisms who are smaller. It is questionable whether or not this has a direct relation to surface area to volume ratio. The purpose of this experiment is to evaluate the biological explanation of the effect of surface area to volume ratio on metabolic rate and heat transfer. To collect our data we made 3 clay models, and cooled them in a container of ice. We then took the models out of the ice baths and measured the rate at which each shape increased in temperature. The temperature was recorded every 30 seconds for 5 minutes. Our hypothesis was unsupported by our data due to flaws in our accuracy of measuring the temperature in our models.