Greta,Grady,Sean,Zoe

2/7/17

Howdoesbreathabilityandclothingmaterialaffectthesurfacebodytemperatureofa
testsubject?

Abstract
Themainthingwewantedtoknowwaswhatmaterialinsulatesthebestincoldweather.
Totestthisweusedacotton,polyester,Goretex,andwooljackets.Thetopicofourexperiment
iscoldweatherandhowitaffectsthetemperatureofthehumanbody.Forourexperimentwe
hadourtestsubjectstandintheshadeinashortsleeveshirt,wewillthenuseathermalcamera
togetthetestsubject'sbodytemperature,wethenhavethemwhereoneofthejacketsand
standstillintheshadefor7minutes.Afterthattheyremovetheextralayerandwetaketheir
bodytemperatureaftertheyhadthelayeron.

Accordingtoourhypothesiswethinkthatthewoolwilldothebestbecauseofhowoften
itisusedandinwinterclothingaswellasithassmallzigzaggycrimpsinitmakingitsothat
woolneverlinesupwitheachothermakingairpocketsthatotherfibersdon't.Thereare
cuticularscalesrepelmoistureandpreventwaterfrombuildingupinthesmallinsulatingair
pockets.Thatiswhyitinsulatessowellevanwhenitiswet.Ourresultsshowedusthatthe
GoreTexworkedthebestforinsulatinginthecoldweather.Thissurprisedusbecause
GoreTexhasnoinsulatingmaterialunlessitispartofthejacket.

Introduction
Wearedoingthisexperimentbecausewewantedtoknowifthematerialsoftheclothing
youwear(cotton,Polyester,Nylon,etc.)(breathablefabrics,ornonbreathablefabrics)affectthe
bodytemperature.OurinspirationcamefromaquestionourgroupthoughtofwhichwasAt
whattemperaturedohumanshavetobetohavehypothermia,andthenwethoughtaboutthe
differentkindsofthingspeoplewearincoldweather.Thetopicofourexperimentiscold
weatherandhowitaffectsthetemperatureofthehumanbody.Forthisexperimentwewanted
toknowwhatwouldbethebestmaterialtowearincoldweatherandweatherornotitwould
affectthebodytemperatureofaperson.Someimportanttermsweusedwerebreathability.This
wordmeansTheabilityofafabrictoallowmoisturevaportobetransmittedthroughthe
material.ThetypesoffabricsthatweusedareGoreTex,wool,synthetic,andcotton.Allof
thesefabricshaveadifferentbreathabilityandthatswhatwetested.Somerelevantinformation
thatwillguideourexperimentaldesignoranalysisisthepointatwhichyoubegintohave
hypothermia.Normalbodytemperatureisaround98F(37C).Hypothermiaoccursasyour
bodytemperaturepassesbelow95F(35C).Anotherpieceofinformationthatwouldhelp
guideourexperimentistheaveragehumanbodycoreis9799F,soifitisanylowerthanthatit
wouldbeconsideredcold.

QuestionandHypothesis
Whattypeofclothingmaterialwillinsulateahumanthebestinawinterenvironment.

 Greta,Grady,Sean,Zoe
2/7/17

Wethinkthatthewoolwilldothebestbecauseofhowoftenitisusedandinwinterclothingas
wellasithassmallzigzaggycrimpsinitmakingitsothatwoolneverlinesupwitheachother
makingairpocketsthatotherfibersdon't.Therearecuticularscalesrepelmoistureandprevent
waterfrombuildingupinthesmallinsulatingairpockets.Thatiswhyitinsulatessowellevan
whenitiswet.

Methods&Materials
Thisexperimentissomewhateasytofollowandafunwaytoseewhatmaterialsyoucanuseto
keepyourbodyinsulated,andmakeyourdaymoreenjoyableinthemountains.Forthis
experiment,youwillneedtomakesurethatthejacketsarethesamethicknessandmakesure
theairtemperatureisrelativelythatsame.Inthisexperimentyouwillneed:
Athermalcamera(canbecompatiblewithiphone)
Atestsubject
Awooljacket(100%wouldbebest)
Syntheticjacket
Cottonjacket
Goretex(rain)jacket
Ashadyplacetoconducttheexperiment(thisissotheairtemp.issimilar)
Tosetup,welaidoutallthejacketsout.Startbytakingapictureofthetestsubject'sbody
temperatureinashortsleeveshirt.Thiswillhelpinlaterdataanalysis.Thenweputonthefirst
jacketweweretesting.After7minutestakeapicturewiththejacketonandthenwithnojacket.
Werepeatedthisstepuntilallofourdifferentjacketmaterials.Thenweuploadedthepictures
andtimeanddatethem.Finally,welookatthedatayouhavecollectedtomakeaconclusion
aboutyourexperimentalquestion.Thesearewhatthepicturesshouldlooklike:

Results
initial final Change initial final Change
Goretex 16.8 21.8 5 15 20 5
 Greta,Grady,Sean,Zoe
2/7/17

Cotton 20 19 1 20 20.4 .4
Synthtic 21 23.5 2.5 20 21.3 1.3
Wool 20 22.6 2.6 19 23.8 4.8
Thegoretexandwoolinsulatedthebestoverall.Theybothincreasedbodytemperaturearound
4.5degreescelsius.Thesyntheticinsulatedrelativelywellcomparedtothecotton.Thecotton
didverylittleatalltoinsulateinthecold.Therecouldbesomepotentialerrorsinthecollection
ofthebodytemperature,theappwasbeingoddandsomeofthenumberswereodd.Theapp
wewereusinghadanaveragetemperatureinanareaandweneededthetemperatureinone
specificarea.Whatwecouldhavedonetofixthis

Discussion
TheresultsofourexperimentwerethattheGoreTexmaterialjackethadthebiggestimpacton
ourtestsubject,ithada5degreecelsiuschange.Thesecondbestonesweresyntheticand
wool,theytiedat2degrees.Theworstonewascottonbecauseitactuallyloweredthetest
subjectstemperatureby1degree.Iamprettyconfidentinourresultsbecauseitcouldhave
beenimprovedinsomeparts.Myhypothesisforthisexperimentwasthatthewoolwouldbethe
warmest,butactuallyitwastheGoreTex.Thisexperimentwasdonebecauseourgroupwanted
toknowwhatwasthemosteffectivematerialforkeepingahumanwarmduringthecold
seasons.Theexpectedresultsthroughoutourgroupwerethatwoolwasgoingtobethe
warmestmaterial.Thedatathatourgroupcollectedwasthis:

initial final Change initial final Change

Goretex 16.8 21.8 5 15 20 5
Cotton 20 19 1 20 20.4 .4
Synthtic 21 23.5 2.5 20 21.3 1.3
Wool 20 22.6 2.6 19 23.8 4.8
Thisdatabasicallydisprovedwhatweinitiallythoughtwhatwasgoingtohappenbyshowing
thatwoolmaterialisnotthemostefficientmaterialtousetokeepwarm.Ourindependent
variable(differenttypesofjackets)hadanaffectonourdependentvariable(ourtestsubject)
becausethedifferentkindsofmaterialsofthejacketschangedthetemperatureofourtest
subject.
Theresultsofthisexperimentaresignificantbecausetheycangiveyouagreatdealof
moreofaneducateddecisionwhenyougooutintoawinterenvironment.Thatmayturnintoa
wintersurvivalsituation.Theresultsareimportanttoacertaindegreeoferrorsotheyaregood
forgeneralanalysisbutnothinggoodforcalculatingotherthingsinmanysituations.Ithinkthat
wecouldhavehadbetterwaysoftestingforourtemperatureaswellaskeepingthe
temperatureofourenvironmentandtestsubjectmoreconsistent.Ourexperimenthadasome
holesinit.Ifweweretodothisagain,weshouldtrytogetallthedifferentmaterialsdoneinone
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2/7/17

day.Sothattheairtemperaturedidnotaffectthesurfacetemperatureatall.Thisneededtobe
aconstantvariableWewouldhavealsohadtolengthenourtimethatourtestsubjectwas
exposedtotheairinthejackets.Heshouldhavebeenoutsideforatleast20minutestoseea
drasticchangeinsurfacetemperature.

Bibliography
http://www.webmd.com/firstaid/tc/hypothermiaandcoldtemperatureexposuretopicoverview
http://www.healthline.com/health/extremetemperaturesafety#Overview1
http://andrewskurka.com/2012/breathabilityitsimportancemechanismsandlimitations/