Idea 2of 9Builds onHow hot
Energy on the move
A cold spoon in hot soup. What moves?
Today you'll discover
- what happens at the join between hot and cold
- which way energy goes, and when it stops
- the word for energy on the move
Think firstA cold metal spoon stands in hot soup
Leave a cold spoon standing in hot soup. What happens to the handle, and why?
Decide first, then press Next. Watch which end the energy leaves and which it reaches.
A metal spoon standing in a bowl of soup, with a row of small balls along its handle and a hand at the tip. After a prediction, the end in the soup is picked out, then the energy's path along the handle toward the colder end, then both ends are named. The last step asks whether heat flows between two things at the same temperature.
See the whole ideathe big idea and the key word, in one place
The big idea
Heat is energy moving from hotter to colder.
Why it happensA temperature difference drives heat the way a height difference drives water. Equal readings: nothing flows. The bigger the difference, the faster it goes.
Key word
- heat
- thermal energy transferred from a hotter object to a colder one; energy on the move, in joules
About this modelParticles are drawn far apart and the arrows show energy, not matter, except in the convection loop where the fluid itself moves.
Particles are drawn far apart and the arrows show energy, not matter, except in the convection loop where the fluid itself moves.
Ready to use it?
- Say which way heat flows between two described objects, and when it stops.