Hypersonics

Equipment Safety Game: Musical Test Tubes

This is a quick game designed to introduce students to using a test tube and test tube clamp, and how to carefully place test tubes into the beakers they will be using during the experiment.

Time: 15-20 minutes

Materials:

• Plastic Test Tubes (1 per student)
• Test tube clamp (1 per student)
• Heat safe gloves
• Plastic cups (Dixie or other 9oz cups, 1 per student)

Setup:

• Place enough cups for each student to have one randomly around classroom
• Have each student standing, holding test tube in clamp in gloved hand (no heat will be used during this game, but students should prepare themselves for the PPE they will be using during the lab)

Rules:

• While music is playing, students are to move about the room continuously
• When music stops, students must carefully place their test tube into the cup nearest them
  • If the cup is knocked over by over-zealous student, that student is out and has a seat
• Once music begins again, students must pick up their test tubes using the clamp, again, if the dixie cup is knocked over the student is out and they have a seat
• Play a few rounds without removing any cups, so that students can practice using the clamp with little pressure.
• Once students have the hang of the game and using the test tube clamps, introduce a bit of pressure by removing one cup at a time from the classroom
  • Rules remain the same, if cups are knocked over student is out
  • If two students are involved in a cup being knocked over, both are out.
• Continue until last student standing

Difference between Thermal Energy, Heat, and Temperature:

Have students watch video linked HERE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0SiEq3GAj0) and then use this simulation to observe the relation between energy and temperature:

https://teachchemistry.org/classroom-resources/simulation-activity-heating-curve-of-water

Ask students to select points on the graph and make observations about the total energy required for the system:

• Why is energy still required to maintain a constant temperature along the graph?
• Is more or less energy needed to increase the temperature?

Download Student Handout (Above)

Hypersonic may sound like cutting-edge research, and something you heard from Top Gun: Maverick, but it has been around since the 1950s. With all the news about space travel, humans have been tackling, and succeeding, the challenge of surviving hypersonic speeds.

Hypersonic refers to any speed above Mach 5, which is five times greater than the speed of sound. It is at this speed that hypersonic flow occurs, and surviving the shockwave and immense heat becomes the challenge. However, humans have faced this challenge head-on throughout history, surviving speeds as high as Mach 35 during re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere. It is at these speeds that our hypersonic vehicles are heating up to 3,000° C. Through innovation and our understanding of science, humans have been able to successfully put people into space and back to Earth safely.

Recently, there has been an increase in interest from the Department of Defense in hypersonic technology as a means of strategic defense. Having a better understanding of innovation in hypersonics allows for a stronger defense, but can have major commercial implications as well. Flights across the United States that take 5 hours, can be as short as 30 minutes! The issue is whether airplanes are able to survive at these speeds. Sustainability and reusability continue to be at the forefront of hypersonic innovation, and thermodynamics and heat transfer are the foundations in the field.

Our activity uses Energy2D to model thermodynamics and heat transfer. This is free to download from the Concord Consortium