Have you ever heard the expression that "Warm or Hot air rises"? Well, Convection explains this phenomenon. Convection is the way heat energy travels in liquids and gases using particles. Due to the increased movement of particles and therefore spreading out of the particles, heated areas of liquids and gases are much lighter than areas that have less heat. The particles in the warmer area are less dense (more spread out) than particles in a cooler area which are closer together. This means that warmer air is lighter, and that is why warm/hot air rises!
| SMOKE BOX DEMONSTRATION (CONVECTION BOX) After watching the Smoke Box Demonstration: 1) Draw a diagram to show what happened to the smoke as one side of the smoke box was being heated with a candle, the other side was cool. 2) Explain what happened and why it happened using the particle theory. |
Here is another Eureka 5 minutes!
SOME CONVECTION OCCURRING IN REAL LIFE!
Directly below is how Convection currents shape our planet and its landforms. The Mantle is full of Magma (molten rock) that heats from the core of the Earth. Because the core is the heat source, the warmer magma pushes upwards and cooler magma near the surface of the planet, sinks downwards. This constant but very slow movement is behind Plate Tectonics. Watch below!!
In this video, you will see how our weather is a result of how heat moves on our planet. From the Sun's radiation, to Conduction of heat on surfaces on the planet, to convection currents in the air and in the water... all these methods of heat transfer act to move and shift the winds and water, creating all the weather patterns we see and feel around the globe! Cool!!