Conduction: Heat Through Solids: Concept Map
≈ 24 minConcept Map
Organise the vocabulary, quantities and relationships into a connected model.
This extension applies that lens specifically to Conduction: Heat Through Solids.
Conduction is the transfer of heat through a material, or between two materials that are touching, without the material itself travelling. Heat moves along the spoon; the spoon stays in the pot.
Materials that conduct heat quickly are thermal conductors — almost all metals, with copper and aluminium among the best. Materials that conduct heat slowly are insulators: wood, plastic, rubber, glass, wool, polystyrene, and — importantly — still air.
Conduction is the main way heat travels through solids.
Worked example — an investigation you can run. Take rods of copper, aluminium, steel and glass, all the same length and thickness. Stick a drawing pin to the far end of each with a blob of candle wax, then heat all four ends equally.
As heat conducts along each rod, the wax melts and the pin drops. Typical results:
| Rod | Time for the pin to fall |
|---|---|
| copper | 12 s |
| aluminium | 20 s |
| steel | 45 s |
| glass | over 300 s |
The steel rod took seconds longer than the copper. Everything except the material was kept the same — same length, same heat source, same size blob of wax — which is what makes the comparison fair.
Natural Sciences — Grade 7 — Concept Map: A metal spoon is left standing in a pot of hot pap. After a few minutes the handle is too hot to hold, even though the handle is nowhere near the food. Which process moved the heat?
Natural Sciences — Grade 7 — Concept Map: What is the name for a material that does not let heat pass through it easily?
Natural Sciences — Grade 7 — Concept Map: In the wax-and-pin investigation the pin fell off the copper rod after 12 seconds and off the steel rod after 45 seconds. How many seconds longer did the steel rod take?
Name the original topic being extended by this concept map lesson.
Which statement is the best evidence-led starting point for Conduction: Heat Through Solids: Concept Map?