CURRICULUM | SCIENCE | TECHNOLOGY | ENGINEERING | MATH
“Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of, who do the things no one can imagine.” - Alan Turing
THERMAL ENERGY TRANSFER
CONDUCTION | CONVECTION | RADIATION
CONDUCTION: TOUCH
CONVECTION: FLOW DUE TO DENSITY
RADIATION: WAVES OF RADIANT ENERGY
THERMAL ENERGY AND MOLECULES
THE MORE THERMAL ENERGY, THE FASTER THE MOLECULES MOVE. FASTER MOLECULES SPREAD APART, THUS CREATING LESS DENSITY.
FOR YOUR NOTEBOOK:
Thermal Energy
Vocabulary and Notes:
Conduction - The transfer of thermal energy by touch
Convection - The transfer of thermal energy by flow due to density differences
Radiation - The transfer of thermal energy by radiant (light) energy.
A. Key Concepts of Conduction
1. You have to touch to conduct
2. Some items conduct heat better than others. (Why some things feel cold even at the same temp.)
B. Key Concepts for Convection
1. Molecules spread when hot and gather when cold.
2. Gathering of molecules makes the object more dense than if molecules spread. Less dense molecules float on more dense molecules, resulting in a flow of heated material.
C. Key Concepts for Radiation
1. It's from radiant energy
2. Hot substances can glow. They send that light to other substances, thus making them warmer.
3. This is why the sun keeps our Earth warm.