Starter quiz
- What might the temperature be on a hot day?
- between 5°C and 10°C
- between 25°C and 30°C ✓
- between 45°C and 50°C
- between 65°C and 70°C
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- What holds the particles in a solid in their fixed positions?
- attractive forces between each particle ✓
- cell walls
- repulsive forces between each particle
- the outside layer of the solid
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- Heating a solid causes its particles to ______ more vigorously.
- 'vibrate' ✓
- Heating a gas causes its particles to ______ more quickly.
- 'move' ✓
- How do particles in a solid pass on vibrations to each other?
- pulling on each other with strong attractive forces
- pushing against each other
- pulling and pushing each other ✓
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- How do faster moving particles in a gas make other particles in the gas move more quickly?
- pulling on each other with strong attractive forces
- pushing against each other ✓
- pulling and pushing each other
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Exit quiz
- As a hot object cools down, it ______ its surroundings.
- 'heats up' ✓
- What do you call a material that is an extremely poor thermal conductor?
- a conductor
- an insulator ✓
- a resistor
- a semiconductor
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- How many variables do you change during a fair test experiment?
- none
- one ✓
- two
- as many as you need to
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- When carrying out a fair test to compare different insulation materials wrapped around a hot drink, which of these are control variables?
- the starting temperature of the drink ✓
- the final temperature of the drink
- the length of time the drink cools for ✓
- the insulation material used
- the temperature of the room ✓
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- Why is a woolly scarf a good insulator?
- wool is a good thermal conductor
- wool is a bad thermal conductor ✓
- trapped air is a very good thermal insulator ✓
- trapped air is a very bad thermal insulator
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- On a hot day, a wrapped ice lolly is covered with a woolly scarf. What will the effect of this be on the ice lolly, compared to one that is not covered?
- It will melt more quickly.
- It will melt more slowly. ✓
- It will melt in the same way.
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Particle vibrations are passed on more quickly between a hot object and conductor than a hot object and an insulator.
- Materials that contain trapped air provide good insulation because gases are very poor thermal conductors.
- Wrapping an object in an insulator keeps a hot object warm and a cold object cool.
Common misconception
Insulators warm objects up.
Show your class that an insulator keeps an ice cube colder for longer by wrapping one in a conductor (such as aluminium foil) and another in an insulator at the start of the lesson. The ice cube in the conductor will melt first.
Keywords
Thermal conduction - a change in temperature due to particles passing on their motion through the forces between them or by particle collisions
Thermal conductor - a substance through which thermal conduction happens quickly
Thermal insulator - a substance through which thermal conduction happens slowly
Insulation - a layer of thermal insulator around an object to help maintain its temperature
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