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Heat on the Move: Exploring Conduction, Convection, and Radiation

Shared by A STEM Educator★ Featured Teacher · rated 90+ in our quality review

Grade 75E ModelAlberta Science Grade 7 — Heat and Temperature unit; NGSS MS-PS3-3; NGSS MS-PS3-460 min
Learning Objective

Students will be able to identify, describe, and compare the three methods of heat transfer (conduction, convection, and radiation), explain the particle-level mechanisms behind each, and apply their understanding to real-world thermal systems.

Lesson Overview

Students investigate the three methods of heat transfer through hands-on experiments and real-world connections. They develop conceptual understanding of how thermal energy moves through solids, liquids, gases, and empty space.

Materials

  • Metal spoon, wooden spoon, plastic spoon (1 set per group)
  • Beaker or heat-safe cup (250 mL)
  • Hot water (from kettle — teacher prepares)
  • Ice cubes
  • Food colouring (red and blue)
  • Clear plastic cups or beakers (2 per group)
  • Small candle or tea light (teacher demo only)
  • Infrared thermometer or regular thermometer
  • Black paper and white paper (1 sheet each per group)
  • Desk lamp with incandescent bulb (1 per group)
  • Timer or stopwatch
  • Student lab sheets
  • Markers and sticky notes

Scaffolded Task Progression

1Task 1
After touching the three spoon handles, rank them from warmest to coolest. Then answer: What property of the material do you think controls how quickly heat travels through it? Write one sentence prediction using the word 'particles.'
2Task 2
At Station 2 (Convection), you poured cold blue water into hot red water. Describe in 2–3 sentences what you observed. Then answer: Why did the blue water sink and the red water rise? Use the words 'density' and 'temperature' in your answer.

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