This is the writing that accompanied my Unit D presentation on explaining the transference of

energy. References to the PowerPoint/animations themselves can be ignored.

Jacob C.
Science Teacher
Science
11 February 2016
Transferring of Energy
The transferring of energy is when energy move from one place to another. The Law of
Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, but it can be
transferred (and transformed, but that has less importance for now). There are three different
ways this can happen: conduction, convection, and radiation.
Conduction is the transfer of energy in the form of heat or electricity from one atom to
another within an object by direct contact. Conduction occurs in solids, liquids, and gases.
However, solids transfer energy most efficiently since the molecules in solids are most tightly
packed, and the molecules are closer together. For liquids and gases, the density of the particles
is generally lower than those of solids and the particles are farther apart, so the energy transfer
not nearly as efficient. Examples of conduction include a stove heating a pot of water and turning
on a light switch. As seen in the first animation, heat is a manifestation of the movement of the
atoms. Cold atoms (blue) do not move much, but the atoms (red) above the flame have more
energy, and vibrate more. Their energetic vibrations are passed through collisions to their colder

neighbors, making those vibrate more in turn. The process continues as more heat is added to the
system, and the bar heats up.
Convection is a type of heat transfer that can only happen in liquids and gases, because it
involves those liquids or gases physically moving. It happens when there is a difference in
temperature between two parts of a liquid or gas. The hot part of a fluid rises, and the cooler part
sinks. This continues as long as there is a heat source, because the cooler part sinks and is
reheated, as seen in the second animation. As seen in the second animation, zooming into the
beaker reveals the temperature of the water via thermal imaging. White is the warmest, followed
by red, yellow and green to blue (coolest). Warm water is less dense than cold water, so it rises
through the cold water above, spreading out at the surface before descending at the sides. This
sets up convection currents in the water (arrows), which serve to spread the warmth throughout
the water.
Finally, radiation is the transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves (light) rather
than the movement of particles. An example of this is a piece of metal being heated by a flame,
and then the heat being (slowly) radiated to another piece of metal by the hot metal being in the
close vicinity of the cooler metal, as seen in my third animation.