Episode Three :Heat

What are the Main Scientific Ideas that are to be presented?

Sources of Heat: The Sun is the main source of heat. A lamp, torch, candle, burning wood, burning fuel , some electric appliances like an iron, heater, microwave oven ,air conditioner, etc… also give heat. Friction can also produce heat (like when you rub your hands against each other)

Some subjects conduct heat like metals while others are insulators (i.e they don not conduct heat) like non metals (wood). Liquids are poor conductors while gases are very poor conductors. That's why we stir a cooking liquid with a wooden or plastic spoon and why all the handles of cooking pots are made up of plastic.

We feel cold when our body loses heat We should prevent heat loss so that our body temperature stays 37⁰C

What can we do when we feel cold?

a-      Wear a lot of clothes to prevent heat loss from your body. Layers of warm clothing traps air which insulates the body. In deserts, people wear light clothes to prevent the absorption of light. Darker clothes allow for absorption of light and hence heat; so he feels warmer.

b-      Sit next to a heat source. Your skin absorbs the heat and you feel warmer.

c-      Do some exercise. Activities give your body energy and make you feel warmer.

d-      Eat, especially sugary items to produce energy.

Why do you shiver and look blue when you are cold?

a-      You shiver because your brain orders your muscles (esp. arms, legs and back) to do so since this produces energy.

b-      You look blue since the brain orders the body to reduce the flow of blood to the skin since this causes more heat loss.

Experiment: which colors absorb heat faster?

How do some animals survive in Alaska and other cold regions?

a-      Fur in animals is like the clothes we wear.

b-      Fat under the skin of animals prevent heat loss from their bodies.

c-      Polar animals have shorter ears to allow for less heat loss.

How can the Scientific Ideas be Presented?

1-      Samer is studying with Sally. Suddenly phone rings. Sally answers. It is her mother telling her that they are going to spend the weekend in faraya at her sister's place and that Fashkoul will take them there. Sally is happy.

2-      Samer is not happy at all. He quarrels with his sister. Fashkoul hears the quarrel and comes very fast.

3-      fashkoul tries to calm both kids down but they don't hear him because they are speaking so loud. He gets a loudspeaker and shouts. The kids stop (with astonishment),sit down and listen to Fashkoul while he is blaming them for quarreling. He asks for the reason and Sally answers.

4-      fashkoul asks samer why he doesn't want to go to faraya though he can ski there. Samer says that he hates to feel cold and it is very cold in faraya.

5-      Fashkoul says that all what samer has to do is to keep himself warm by keeping close to the sources of heat.

6-      Samer says that the sun doesn't shine all the time so he can sit there.

7-      Fashkoul says that there are sources of heat other than the sun. Suddenly he smells something burning. He wonders what was that. Suddenly he hears his wife shouting. He forgot the iron on her clothes as he went down to see the kids; and now the dress of Mrs Fashoul is burnt.Fashkoul looks at the dress and says; This was burnt because the iron gives heat like other electric appliances….. He goes up to his house as he is quarreling with his wife.

8-      Now Sally says that Fashkoul is right. The only thing they have to do is to do a research on how they can stay warm in winter.

9-      Samer asks for Jeem's help. Jeem says that our body gets its energy from the food we eat. So eating gives you heat. Sally comments by saying that this is why we often feel cold when we are fasting. Samer wonders why he feels cold in winter although he eats well. Jeem replies by saying that our body is affected by the outside temperature; so when it becomes cold outside, we may feel cold. Sitting next to a heat source makes you feel warmer.

10-   Samer searches for the different things that can give heat and puts them in a big bag. (I can use electric heater, if electricity went off I can use camping gas, if I run out of gas, I can use the candle or I can burn this coal. All these can give us heat.) he puts many blankets too. As samer is preparing all this stuff, Fashkoul gets in and observes Samer as he is preparing his bag and closing it.

11-    Samer says that he has finished preparing his luggage.

12-    Fahkoul reminds Samer that he has forgotten a very important thing; clothes to wear since wearing a lot of clothes make you feel warm since the layers of clothes entrap air which insulates the body preventing any heat loss from the body.

13-   Samer wonders what an insulator is. He asks jeem Jeem explains that insulators are substances that do not allow heat to pass through. Heat moves in gases like air very slowly. They also move slowly in liquids; that's why it takes time to heat water. As far as solids are concerned, metals can conduct heat while nonmetals like carbon and wood do not conduct heat.

14-   Samer understands the concept. He goes to his bedroom and brings in Jackets and sweaters that are white or light in colors. Fashkoul says that darker colors are better since they can absorb heat better than light colors. That is why peple in hot regions lke Saudi Arabia wear white gowns.  Samer insists to investigate this by doing an experiment. He goes, with Fashkol to the lab. They get two metallic cans. They wrap the first can with a light cardboard and the other with a black cardboard. They put the same amount of water in both and read the temperature of the water. They put the two cans in the sun. Samer says that the heat sent by the sun in the form of rays will be absorbed by the cans since the cans are good conductors as jeem said. Then the heat absorbed by the can will raise the temperature of the water in the cans. They leave the cans in the sun for 1 hour. After 1 hour, they come back and find that the temperature of the water in the can wrapped with the black sheet was higher because it could absorb more heat. Fashkoul says that he has to go and prepare his bag for their trip to Faraya.

15-   In the morning, Fashkoul wakes up the kids and asks them to prepare themselves. They give him their bags. Samer's bag is so huge. He gets down, and starts his car. Sally follows. They wait for Samer for 30 minutes.  Fashkoul  horns many times and then gets his loud speaker and asks Samer to come down. As a consequence, Em Salim wakes up and starts shouting from the balcony. Fashkoul apologizes.

16-   Samer comes down with so many clothes on him. He is almost not seen.

17-   As fashkol is driving; he sings with Sally until they reach Faraya. samer has a blanket on him and he keeps taking his temperature to check if is body temperature is falling down. Sally comments that his body temperature will stay constant at 37⁰C so he should not worry.

18-   The group continue their trip. Samer keeps rubbing his hands since this gives heat like the cave man who created fire by rubbing stones. He also keeps taking his temperature.

19-   The group stop as they reach the place of Sally' s aunt. Their cousin welcomes them and Fashkoul helps them with their bags. Samer gets in rapidly and sits by the fire with the thermometer in his mouth.

20-   Fashkoul, Sally and the cousin sit and chat while Samer is cold and can hardly speak. He is shivering. He asks Jeem for the reason. jeem says that shivering involves the movement of muscles and the body uses this mechanism to produce energy. It is a natural response so he should not worry. She explains that people with fever shiver a lot to produce energy to compensate for the decrease in their body temperature.

21-   Sally wonders why her cousin has trouble with "S" though he never had this problem before. He says that he had a tongue surgery after he burnt his tongue when he tasted a very very hot soup that his mother was preparing. (Flashback)He didn't realize that the soup was hot since the spoon wasn't hot. He later realized that the spoon didn't become hot since it was a wooden spoon and wood is an insulator. fashkoul comments that this is the reason why most handles of cooking pots are made up of plastic.

22-   Suddenly , samer shouts. He says that his nose is very cold though his body feels warm. Sally and Faskoul say that they all have cold noses and they try to guess why. Fashkoul says that it might be because it is higher and temperature decreases as you go up. Sally suggests that they ask Jeem.

23-   Jeem says that as long as our body is healthy, our brain prevents any heat loss from the body when the outside temperature decreases so that our body temperature stays 37⁰C. To do so, it allows for  less circulation of blood to the skin that's why our skin feels colder than our body temperature; hence we feel that our feet, hands , and nose are cold and we might sometimes look blue.

24-   Sally thanks Jeem for the explanation and feels comfortable. Now they all go outside to play with the snow.

25-   As they are playing, Samer observes a cat outside . Fashkoul takes the cat inside the house and tries, with the other kids, to put some clothes on it to make it feel warm. Jeem is watching what is happening. She says that they shouldn't do so. She explains that this cat, like many other mammals,  can survive in this cold weather because it has fur that keeps its body warm. She says that every living thing has adapted a way to keep its body temperature constant. She gives an example of the polar bears that have a thick fur and a lot of fat under their skin. The fat prevents heat loss from their bodies. She also asks them to realize that polar fox has shorter ears as compared to other foxes who live in hot areas. Shorter ears prevent heat loss and hence maintain body temperature. Jeem blames Samer for being so paranoid. She asks him to go outside and play since activities provide his body with energy that can keep him warm.

26- Samer goes outside and play with the others and they spend a nice time.