Click to edit project
Click to edit project description
Testing suncreams In this project, you will investigate how well different sun creams and sun blocks protect against UV radiation. Getting Started You should start this project with some research, try to find out: Information about the electromagnetic spectrum and radiation from the sun. Why UV radiation is damaging to people’s skin. What different sun protection factors (SPFs) mean on sun cream and sun block. Different ways of measuring radiation from the sun. You then need to develop a method to work out how much of the sun’s radiation is blocked by a variety of sun creams and sun blocks. Taking readings: Set up your apparatus to test the effectiveness of different sun creams and sun blocks. Remember, you will need to keep nonvariables constant. That means you’ll need to think about weather conditions when testing different products – for example, will the results be comparable if you test different sun creams on different days? You’ll also need to make sure you use the same amount of each type of sun cream/sun block. Decide how many times you should conduct the experiment to gain a reasonable number of results. Click to edit project description Decide if there are any other readings you want to take. For example, you may want to see if there is a relationship between UV and temperature. You should also take note of weather conditions. What is the effect of the time of day, or cloud cover? The results: Decide on a good way of displaying your results. Plotting temperature and radiation readings on the same graph will allow you to easily spot any relationships. Things to think about There are different types of UV sensor available - you might like to compare them to see which is most effective. Useful Resources You might also like to visit local universities or other places with suitable equipment to find out if there are more accurate ways of measuring UV. A weather centre, perhaps from the closest regional television station, may be able to help.
