Does the pot size affect the speed water boils?

By Josiah Senior
Introduction:
I observed that water boils at different speeds in different sized pots. I decided to find out if the same amount of water boils faster in a large pot or a small pot.

My hypothesis:
My hypothesis is that water boils faster in a large pot than a small pot.

My method and apparatus:

My apparatus was a small pot, a large pot, a stove, 1 litre of water and a stopwatch. My method was to switch on the stove and allow it to heat up. I then measured out 1 litre of water and left it for 10 minutes to get it to room temperature. I placed the water in the large pot then placed the pot on the stove, simultaneously starting the stopwatch. Once the water started boiling I stopped the stopwatch. I then allowed the water to cool and repeated this process two more times. I then did this process 3 times with the small pot. The control variables were: the amount of water, which must be the same each time you do the experiment (I used 1 litre every time), the starting temperature of the water (I allowed the water to return to room temperature), the temperature of the stove (I allowed it to heat up before starting). The independent variable is the pot size. The dependent variable is the time the water takes to boil.

Results:

Result 1 2 3 Average

Small Pot 5mins 50secs 6mins 12secs 7mins 6mins 20secs

Large Pot 3mins 20secs 3mins 60secs 4mins 3mins 60secs

M I N U T E S

8 6 4 2 0 Result 1 Result 2 Result 3 5.5 3.2 6.12 3.6 7 4

Small Pot Large Pot

Small Pot Large Pot

Discussion:
The results say that water in a bigger pot heats up faster than water in a smaller pot. The variable of the stoves heat may have changed through the experiment as it heated up, but I have controlled it as well as I could so it

was almost a completely fair test. I think water in the big pot boiled faster because the big pot has more surface area touching the water, so it conveys the heat faster.

Conclusion:
I was correct in my hypotheses when I said that water boils faster in a big pot than a small pot, and the results back this up.