Which is the best stirrer?

Equipment:

• a plastic cup
• hot water
• an icecream container
• a thermometer
• a plastic teaspoon
• a metal teaspoon
• a wooden iceblock stick
• plastic wrap

Method:

Place the cup inside the icecream container to catch any spills.

Carefully fill the cup with hot water from the tap. (The water needs to be hotter than 50 degrees C.)

Put the two teaspoons and the wooden iceblock stick into the hot water. (The plastic and wooden stirrers will tend to float, so put some plastic wrap over the top of the cup to hold them down.

Record which stirrer becomes hottest and which stirrer stays coldest. (Do so by lifting the plastic wrap and feeling the temperature of each stirrer every minute for 3 minutes).

• Which stirrer is the best insulator of heat?
  
• Which stirrer is the best conductor of heat?
  
• Which stirrer would be the best to use to stir hot food in a saucepan?