All About Heat Transfer | Teach Starter - Free Printable

Let’s go through each statement one by one and figure out whether it’s conduction, convection, or radiation.

Remember:
- Conduction = heat moves through direct contact (like touching something hot).
- Convection = heat moves through liquids or gases when warm parts rise and cool parts sink (like boiling water or hot air rising).
- Radiation = heat travels through space as waves (like sunlight warming your skin).

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1. Water heating up in a boiling pan
→ The water at the bottom gets hot, rises, and cooler water sinks to get heated — this is circulation. That’s convection.

2. Using a blow dryer to dry your hair
→ Hot air is blown onto your hair — that’s moving air carrying heat. That’s convection.

3. Frying an egg in a frying pan
→ The egg touches the hot pan directly. Heat moves from pan to egg by touch. That’s conduction.

4. Cheese melting on a cheeseburger
→ The hot burger patty touches the cheese — heat moves by direct contact. That’s conduction.

5. Baking cookies in an oven
→ In most ovens, hot air circulates around the cookies. Even if it’s radiant heat too, the main way cookies bake evenly is from moving hot air → convection.

6. Roasting a marshmallow at a campfire
→ You’re not touching the fire, and it’s not mainly hot air hitting it — you feel the heat from the flames even without touching them. That’s radiation.

7. A hot air balloon rising into the sky
→ Hot air inside the balloon is less dense and rises — that’s movement of heated gas. That’s convection.

8. Getting sunburned while at the beach
→ Sunlight (including UV rays) travels through space to reach your skin. No air or touch needed. That’s radiation.

9. Burning your hand on a hot coffee mug
→ Your hand touches the hot mug — direct contact. That’s conduction.

10. Heat from a fire melting plastic
→ If the plastic is near the fire but not touching it, and not being hit by hot air currents specifically, then it’s likely the infrared heat rays from the fire doing the melting → radiation.
*(Note: If the plastic were sitting right above the fire where hot air rises, it could be convection — but “heat from a fire” usually implies radiant heat unless specified otherwise.)*

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Final Answer:

1. Convection
2. Convection
3. Conduction
4. Conduction
5. Convection
6. Radiation
7. Convection
8. Radiation
9. Conduction
10. Radiation