Grades 6–8 · Flip the cards to learn the three ways heat moves and spot each one in everyday winter life.

Conduction, Convection and Radiation

Thermal energy moving from something warmer to something cooler.

Heat moving through direct contact, as fast-moving particles bump into slower ones. Example: a metal spoon in hot soup gets hot.

Heat carried by a moving liquid or gas. Warm fluid is less dense and rises, cooler fluid sinks, and this makes a loop called a convection current.

Energy that travels as waves, such as infrared and visible light. It is the only one of the three that can move through empty space, which is how the Sun warms Earth.

Conduction. Heat flows from your warm hand into the cold metal.

You grab a cold metal railing on a winter day and your hand feels cold. Which kind of heat transfer is this?

Convection. Warm air rises and cooler air sinks.

Why is the air near the ceiling warmer than the air near the floor?

Radiation. Infrared waves travel from the fire to your skin.

You sit near a campfire and your face feels warm without touching the fire. Which kind of heat transfer is this?

A conductor, like most metals, lets heat move through it easily. An insulator, like wool, foam or trapped air, slows heat down.

What is the difference between a conductor and an insulator?

Its puffy layers trap air, a good insulator, which slows heat flowing from your body to the cold air.