Leave a metal spoon in a hot drink and the handle is soon too warm to hold, yet a wooden spoon stays cool. In the metal, energy races from particle to particle and through a sea of free electrons, while the wood barely passes it on.
Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy through a material without the material itself moving. Vibrating particles pass energy to their neighbours; metals conduct best because they also have free electrons that carry energy quickly.
Thermal conduction is the transfer of thermal energy through a substance, from the hotter region to the colder region, without the substance moving as a whole.
Only the energy travels along the material; the particles stay roughly in place.
Heat one end of a material and watch energy travel along it from the hot end to the cold end.
Four quick checks. Each correct answer earns XP and lights this skill on your star map.
Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy...
The best conductors of thermal energy are...
In conduction, energy is passed from particle to particle by...
Which is the poorest conductor, and so the best insulator?
Conduction depends on how readily particles can pass energy on, which is why materials differ so much.
In conduction the material itself does not flow. The particles stay roughly where they are and simply pass energy to their neighbours by vibrating harder, so only the energy travels along the material.
Unlocks once the four checks above are done. Worth more XP, written in the style of Paper 2.
A metal spoon left in hot tea soon feels hot because energy is...
Metals conduct thermal energy far better than non-metals because they contain...
Gases are very poor conductors because their particles are...
First heat-transfer skill secured. Keep the chain going.