Conducting an experiment about conducting materials!
Materials:
- 2 medium-sized metal spoons
- 1 ice cube
- 2 small bowls or cups
Instructions:
- Place a spoon in each bowl or cup.
- Put an ice cube in one of the spoons. Wait for 5-10 minutes.
- Touch the spoons.
- Observe what happens to each spoon and ice cube.
Explanation: The spoon that is touching the ice cube will feel cold, while the other spoon will feel normal. This is because heat is being transferred from the spoon to the ice cube, causing the temperature of the spoon to decrease.
The temperature of the ice cube will also increase, but it will remain a solid (for some time) because its temperature is still below the freezing point.
This activity demonstrates the difference between heat and temperature, and how heat is transferred (particle movement).
Step 2:
Repeat the experiment, but put an ice cube in each spoon.
Fill one bowl with water (room temperature).
Wait 5-10 minutes.
Do both spoons feel cold? Is one colder than the other?
Air is a good insulator, so the heat transfer works well in the empty bowl.
The bowl filled with water however, will also transfer heat from the water to the ice cube. So the spoon does not change temperature as drastically.