Name ______Pd___

Case Study: Left out in the Cold

Lab Part 1: Mapping Skin Temperature

Your skin is an important organ in helping regulate body temperature. You will be using special skin temperature thermometers to find the temperature of your skin. Follow the directions carefully!

Step 1: Tape in the pictures of the body into your notebook. Predict where the hottest and coldest spots are on your skin. Write “H” where you predict will be the hottest and “C” where you think will be the coolest.

Step 2:Use the thermometers to measure the temperature of at least 10 places on your body. Be sure to take the temperature of your predicted hottest and coldest places (if appropriate). Record the temperatures on the body diagrams.

Analysis Questions: Answer in your notebook in complete sentences.

  1. Look at your predictions for the hottest and coldest locations? Was your prediction correct? If not, what was the hottest and coldest location?
  1. What was your average skin temperature (add up all 10 measurements and divide by 10).
  1. Normal body temperature is 37 oC. Is your average skin temperature higher or lower? Why do you think this is?
  1. How are your temperatures the same or different from your partner’s temperatures?

Left Out in the Cold

byTom Cappaert

Reading Part I

Joel had been looking forward to his first backpacking trip to the Canadian Rockies for some time. He had some experience in camping and backpacking, but was looking for a new challenge in the mountains and forests of Canada. As he drove to the trailhead to begin his trip, he was a little surprised at the immensity of the mountains and the snow on the peaks this late in the spring.

“We certainly don’t have many of these in Florida,” he thought to himself. As Joel unpacked his equipment, he ran through a mental checklist of the essential gear he had brought to be prepared for his first extended cold weather hike. The last time he had checked the weather reports, they had predicted dry weather and moderate temperatures. “I won’t need all this extra cold weather clothing; it is April after all. I think I’ll lighten my load a little,” he said to himself. He didn’t think it necessary to check with the park rangers again about the weather since he was only going to be gone for the day.

Joel’s hike went well at first. He had handled the steep climbs without too much difficulty and he had been amazed by the scenery and wildlife in the area. But he was a little worried now by the dark, ominous clouds that were gathering quickly to the west. He could feel a cold wind starting to blow and wished he had brought that extra clothing after all. He realized he wasn’t used to the cold and found himself wishing for the Florida sunshine. Soon, snow started to fall lightly and Joel began to worry about dealing with the weather. He thought he should start heading back to his car because he figured he was at least four hours away. He picked up his pace and headed back towards the trailhead.

It was now quite dark and the snow was coming down heavily. The trail was getting hard to follow and Joel wasn’t even sure he was moving in the right direction anymore. He was starting to feel quite cold and rather fatigued. His clothes were wet after he stumbled into a waist-deep creek and he had lost his hat somewhere on the trail. He needed to rest, so he found a large pine tree and sat down clumsily beneath it. Joel had heard stories of people suffering rapid drops in body temperature, known as hypothermia, and he knew he had to find a way to keep warm or he might be in serious trouble.

In your notebook:

  1. Define hypothermia.
  1. Highlight or underline the evidence in the story above that puts Joel at risk for hypothermia.
  1. Think about a situation when you were really cold. What are two things that happened in your body to help you warm up?

Lab Part 2: Cooling Down Skin Temperature and Recording Recovery

Follow your teacher’s instructions. Draw the following data table in your notebook. Your partner will record your data in your notebook.

DATA TABLE

Temp Before Bath / Temp Immediately out of bath / 1
min. / 2
min. / 3
min. / 4
min. / 5
min. / 6
min. / 7
min.
TRIAL 1
( oC)
  1. How did the cold water make your hand feel?
  1. Why do you think it felt that way? Think about how we feel.
  1. Look at your data. Describe your trial 1 data. Be sure to write at least two complete sentences.

Reading Part II

Joel was feeling very fatigued and was shivering strongly. His hands and feet were starting to feel cold and it felt like very little blood was getting to his extremities. He felt the need to continue moving, so he began walking as he ate his last energy bar and this seemed to make him feel a little better. Joel continued to walk, hoping something would look familiar and he could find his way back to the trailhead.

  1. What physiologic response would cause Joel to feel there was little blood flowing to his hands and feet? How does this physiologic response limit heat loss to the environment? (Refer to your notes and table 4.1 – pg 113 in book)
  1. Why is Joel shivering so strongly? How does this help to prevent a drop in normal body temperature? (See page 185 for help)

Lab Part 3: Using a skin warming technique

Choose a method to warm up your hand. You will need to do the same method the whole seven minutes.

WARM UP METHOD: ______

Follow your teacher’s instructions. Copy the following data table into your notebook. Make sure to label it Trial 2. Your partner will record your data in your notebook.

DATA TABLE

Temp Before Bath / Temp Immediately out of bath / 1
min. / 2
min. / 3
min. / 4
min. / 5
min. / 6
min. / 7
min.
TRIAL 2
( oC)

DATA ANALYSIS

It’s time to graph your data from BOTH lab sections. Use one color for Trial 1 and a different color for trial 2. Your first data point is your “Temperature before the bath”. Tape the graph into your notebook.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: ______

DEPENDENT VARIABLE: ______

Remember to include ALL components of a proper graph – use TAILS

T – Title

A – Axes (independent on x-axis, dependent on y-axis)

I – intervals – space out evenly

L – Label -make sure to label axes and include units. Make a key for trial 1 and trial 2 colors

S – Scale – spread out your graph so that it takes up most of the paper

DATA ANALYSIS (cont.)

  1. Look at your data. Did your warming technique work? Use your data (actual NUMBERS) to support your statement and write at least three complete sentences.
  1. What are some limitations of this experiment (what couldn’t we control)? How could you improve it or set it up so the data is more “accurate”. Write at least three complete sentences.

Reading Part III

Joel was starting to get scared. He realized he was probably lost and was now very cold. His hands and feet were starting to feel numb and his shivering was violent. He was very fatigued and he felt light-headed. He wasn’t making much progress because he was stumbling every few feet and he couldn’t concentrate very well either. A few minutes later Joel heard what he thought was an engine and then he thought he saw a light climbing up towards him slowly. Suddenly a park ranger appeared on an all-terrain-vehicle. “Are you okay?” the park ranger asked. “We found your car down the hill and figured you might have been caught up here in this storm. We need to get you down to the ranger station and get you warmed up as quickly as we can!” the ranger said. “You need to be careful up here, you never know what the mountains have in store.”

  1. Two common cold-related conditions are frostbite and hypothermia. Research the signs and symptoms of each. Create the following chart in your notebook and record the signs and symptoms there.

Frostbite / Hypothermia
  1. If you were the ranger or emergency medical responder treating Joel, what would you do to treat him for hypothermia and frostbite? (List at least four things)