Lyrics

Chorus
There are three ways that heat can travel
But it can travel in any direction
From the sun it moves to the earth, quick as a shadow
And disperses in radiation, conduction, and convection

Verse I
First things first, let’s discuss heat
What it is before you pay for it to warm your feet
Heat is the energy that flows when
atoms and molecules move
It diffuses out toward coolness

temperature is the measurement of
The average motion of these atoms
And molecules in the atmosphere
So there have it

Now, the first way of transportation of heat energy is radiation
Like sound waves from your radio stations
Filling the empty space around you
Your radiator warms you, but don’t start a fire now, I warned you
Heat is going through radiation from the sun
Before it burns you from 93 million miles away
To re-radiate this heat is what the earth does for you
This is survival what this heat is going through
Before it rises to the sky and it’s gone so…

Chorus

Verse II
conduction is the second method on my list
You can feel it like a hot pot on your fist
With the handle gripped I bet you’d rather grab a candle lit
‘Cause it’s heat through conduction that causes this

Atoms in matter in a fixed position vibrate when heated
Like a pan in the kitchen
Transmit the heat energy to atoms next to them
That are cooler than they are to cause equilibrium
To even out the temperature the heat has to travel
Up the spoon in your tea in the morning with your bagel
It might burn your hand, but just learn the land of
conduction heat energy until you understand
The earth gains little from conduction
It’s mostly radiation that helps us function and keeps us warm
It’s just another way for heat to move
But now let’s move on to method three to prove…

Chorus

Verse III
Convection is the movement of heat in liquids and gasses
To even out the temperature fastest
This process is called diffusion
It’s a flow of particles cold and hot in a fluid
If you’re not listening, then stop what you’re doing
‘Cause this final mode that heat can move in
And this affects you everyday
It’s the breeze at your back and the wind at your face

When heat reaches the earth it rises at a rate
With the air in the place and it moves up till it cools
Trillions of molecules together
Make up the weather that we see on the news
It’s how they measure the pressure of the air and the temperature
But convection is how it got there in the atmosphere
So don’t be scared. Heat moves in three ways
So we made things clear, it’s like…..

Resources

Further Reading

ASPIRE: Astrophysics Science Project Integrating Research & Education
Popcorn: Conduction, Convection and Radiation
This website uses the example of cooking popcorn to describe the three methods of heating.

Mansfield, CT Schools
Convection, Conduction and Radiation
This website gives a brief overview of the concepts of convection, conduction and radiation.

Lesson Plans & Activities

The Educator’s Reference Desk
Hot Rot
This activity asks students to measure the amount of heat energy created by decomposing organic matter.

eMINTS National Center
Energy: Heat: Conduction, Convection, Radiation
This website has several links to resources explaining different ways of generating heat. The links include animated images, quizzes, a lesson plan, and experiments.

HotChalk’s Lesson Plans Page
Passing the Heat Along
This is an experiment designed to teach students about conductors and the passing of heat.

Science-Teachers.com
Heat Worksheets and Activities
This website features a word search worksheet for free downloading.

Teach-nology.com
It’s Coming To Me!
This experiment involves melting paraffin squares and then answering conclusion questions about the three methods of transferring heat.

Thirteen Ed Online
Conduction, Convection, Radiation
In this lesson and its extension opportunities the students should have the opportunity to learn how to draw a line graph, and use graphing as a tool to discover more about conduction, convection and radiation.

Media

TeacherTube
Heat Transfer Part 1 (video)
This clip is from the TV show “Science in Action.” It discusses heat energy and how it is transferred using various laboratory demonstrations.

TeacherTube
Heat Transfer Part 2 (video)
This clip is from the TV show “Science in Action.” It discusses heat energy and how it is transferred using various laboratory demonstrations.