Heat conduction may seem like a complicated topic, but this simple experiment makes it easy to understand – as well as a whole lot of fun!
Let’s dive into our melted butter race as we explore the concept of conduction!
What is Conduction?
Conduction is when heat transfers through direct contact.
For example, when a hot spoon comes into contact with cool butter, it transfers its heat.
Let’s see what happens by following the experiment below!
Materials
- Glass
- Plastic spoon
- Metal spoon
- Pencil
- Hot water
- Knife
- Butter
How to Do the Conduction (Heat Transfer) Experiment
Step 1
With help from an adult, cut out three small chunks of butter.
Step 2
Put one piece of butter on the end of each utensil: plastic spoon, metal spoon and the pencil. Place the butter on the very end of the handle side of each spoon and the lead tip of the pencil
Step 3
Pour hot water into the glass. It only needs to fill about 1/4 of the glass. Place both of the spoons and the pencil inside of the glass with hot water with the buttery ends sticking out.
Make your predictions! Which utensil do you think the butter will melt the fastest on? Hint: Think about conduction!
Step 4
Now time to observe.
Watch each piece of butter carefully. What do you notice?
What is happening?
It is very important to note which piece of butter melts first.
Step 5
Were your predictions correct?
In this experiment, the heat transfers through the water to the utensils, then to the butter at the tips.
Which utensil did the butter melt the fastest on?
That’s right! The metal spoon!
Metal is an Excellent Conductor
Metal is an example of a good conductor.
A conductor is a material that easily allows energy to move through it.
Electrons in metal are free moving. When they gain energy, or in this case heat, the electrons move around a lot more quickly.
This means that they are passing around the energy, or heat, more quickly, thus heating up quicker opposed to other materials.
Is Wood a Good Conductor?
No. Wood actually lacks charges so it can’t conduct energy or heat.
Because of this, it also lacks electrical properties.
Wood is an example of an insulator, a material that does not easily allow energy to move through it.
Is Plastic a Conductor?
Plastics are also very poor heat conductors. They also have little to no free electrons so heat or energy is not able to pass through the electrons.
