Can your hand measure temperature?
ObjectiveTo find out what touch can and cannot tell you about how hot something is.
MaterialsThree glasses, cold water, water from the tap, warm water, and a laboratory thermometer.
MethodFill one glass with very cold water, one with tap water and one with lukewarm water. Touch each in turn and write down, in words only, which is which. Then measure all three with a thermometer and write the numbers beside your guesses. Now repeat with three glasses that are all warm: lukewarm, a little hotter, and hotter still, and try to order them by touch alone.
DiscussionWhich set was easy to order by touch, and which was hard? Could your hand give a number to any of them?