Heat Transfer Worksheet | Teach Starter - Free Printable

Let’s go through each example one by one. We’ll figure out:

1. Path of Heat Transfer — Where is the heat moving from and to?
2. Type of Heat Transfer — Is it conduction (touching), convection (moving fluids/air), or radiation (waves, no contact)?

We already have #1 done as an example:
→ Walking on hot sidewalk → heat moves from sidewalk to feet → conduction (because you’re touching it).

Now let’s do the rest:

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2. sipping hot chocolate
- Path: from hot chocolate to your mouth/lips
- Type: conduction (you’re touching the cup or liquid with your lips)

3. blowing on your hands to keep them warm
- Path: from your breath (warm air) to your hands
- Type: convection (warm air moves over your skin)

4. frying an egg
- Path: from pan to egg
- Type: conduction (egg touches hot pan)

5. popping popcorn in a microwave
- Path: from microwave waves to popcorn kernels
- Type: radiation (microwaves are electromagnetic waves that heat food without touching)

6. stepping onto hot sand
- Path: from sand to your feet
- Type: conduction (your feet touch the sand)

7. drying your hair with a hair dryer
- Path: from hot air blown by dryer to your hair
- Type: convection (hot air moves over your hair)

8. ice melting in your hand
- Path: from your hand to the ice
- Type: conduction (ice touches your warm hand)

9. ironing a shirt
- Path: from iron to shirt
- Type: conduction (iron touches fabric)

10. roasting a marshmallow over a campfire
- Path: from fire to marshmallow (through air/space)
- Type: radiation (heat travels as infrared waves — you don’t need to touch the fire)

11. cooking pasta in boiling water
- Path: from hot water to pasta
- Type: convection (water circulates and carries heat to pasta) + some conduction (pasta touches water), but mostly convection because water moves

*Note: In school worksheets, they often say “convection” for boiling water since the water moves around.*

12. drying clothes in a clothes dryer
- Path: from hot air inside dryer to wet clothes
- Type: convection (hot air blows around clothes)

13. lighting a candle with a match
- Path: from flame of match to wick of candle
- Type: radiation (flame heats wick without direct touch at first) + conduction once flame touches wick — but usually we say radiation for the initial ignition

*Actually, when you hold the match to the wick, it’s mostly conduction — the flame touches the wick. So better answer:*

→ Path: from match flame to candle wick
→ Type: conduction (direct contact between flame and wick)

Wait — flames aren’t solid, so technically it’s radiation and convection too… But for this level, if the match touches the wick, it’s conduction.

Let’s stick with:
→ conduction (since you press the match against the wick)

14. touching a spoon in a hot bowl of soup
- Path: from soup to spoon to your hand
- Type: conduction (spoon touches soup, then your hand touches spoon)

But the question says “touching a spoon in a hot bowl of soup” — so heat goes from soup → spoon → your hand. The transfer *to your hand* is conduction.

So:
→ Path: from spoon to your hand
→ Type: conduction

15. cooking steaks on a grill
- Path: from grill grates to steak
- Type: conduction (steak touches hot metal)

Also, there’s radiation from the coals below — but if it’s sitting on the grill, primary method is conduction.

In many textbooks, grilling is listed as conduction + radiation. But since the steak is touching the grill, we’ll say conduction.

16. chocolate melting in your mouth
- Path: from your mouth/tongue to chocolate
- Type: conduction (chocolate touches your warm tongue)

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Let me double-check tricky ones:

- #5 Microwave: Definitely radiation — microwaves are non-contact EM waves.
- #10 Campfire: Radiation — you feel heat even without touching fire.
- #11 Boiling water: Convection — water moves and transfers heat.
- #13 Match to candle: If you touch the wick with the flame, it’s conduction. Some might argue radiation, but for simplicity at this level, conduction is acceptable.
- #15 Grill: If steak is on grate → conduction. If held above → radiation. Since it says “on a grill”, likely conduction.

All seem consistent.

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Final Answer:

| Example | Path of Heat Transfer | Type of Heat Transfer |
|----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|------------------------|
| 1. Walking on a hot sidewalk | from sidewalk to feet | conduction |
| 2. sipping hot chocolate | from hot chocolate to mouth | conduction |
| 3. blowing on your hands to keep them warm | from breath to hands | convection |
| 4. frying an egg | from pan to egg | conduction |
| 5. popping popcorn in a microwave | from microwave waves to popcorn | radiation |
| 6. stepping onto hot sand | from sand to feet | conduction |
| 7. drying your hair with a hair dryer | from hot air to hair | convection |
| 8. ice melting in your hand | from hand to ice | conduction |
| 9. ironing a shirt | from iron to shirt | conduction |
| 10. roasting a marshmallow over a campfire | from fire to marshmallow | radiation |
| 11. cooking pasta in boiling water | from hot water to pasta | convection |
| 12. drying clothes in a clothes dryer | from hot air to clothes | convection |
| 13. lighting a candle with a match | from match flame to candle wick | conduction |
| 14. touching a spoon in a hot bowl of soup | from spoon to hand | conduction |
| 15. cooking steaks on a grill | from grill to steak | conduction |
| 16. chocolate melting in your mouth | from mouth to chocolate | conduction |