Lab+'Conduction+in+Action'

Activity 10-1B =Conduction in Action = __**Purpose:**__ To investigate the rate of conductivity through different metals.


 * __Materials:__**
 * four 8 cm conduction bars (carbon, tin, lead, copper, aluminum, zinc)
 * felt pen
 * ruler
 * wax strips or candles
 * matches
 * hot plate
 * brick or block of wood
 * stopwatch
 * graph paper
 * pencil crayons

__**Procedure:**__ See page 432


 * __Data:__**
 *  ||||||||||||= **Time (s)** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Distance (cm)** ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Aluminum ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Zinc || <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Copper || <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Lead || <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Carbon ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Tin ||
 * = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">0.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">0.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">0.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">0.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">0.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">0.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">0.0 ||
 * = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">2.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">3.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">2.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">6.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">2.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">22.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">2.0 ||
 * = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">4.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">12.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">4.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">10.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">5.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">31.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">6.0 ||
 * = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">6.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">20.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">10.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">17.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">14.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">39.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">16.0 ||
 * = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">8.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">30.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">32.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">29.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">36.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">54.0 ||= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">34.0 ||

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

__**Analyze:**__ > b) In order from best to worst conductor: //Copper, Aluminum, Zinc, Tin, Lead, Carbon//
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">It was easy to tell that the heat was being conducted along the metal bars because the cool wax drops placed 2 cm apart gradually started melting one by one by the heat from the flame. This shows that conduction (the process of heat from a substance with higher temperature transferring to a substance with colder temperature) was occuring.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">a) All of the metals were conductors, but some worked better than others.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**__Conclude and Apply:__**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Heating causes the molecules of a substance to move faster, resulting in more collisions. The molecules of the flame collide with the molecules of the cool candle wax, transferring kinetic energy to the slower-moving particles of the wax. As the collisions continue, heat transfers to the wax, making it melt.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">From these metals, I would choose carbon to stir a hot mixture because it is the best insulator (it doesn't transfer a lot of heat). I would want an insulator so the heat wouldn't flow to my hands making them burn. Also, it doesn't fall apart like one of the other metals did.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Conclusion: __**

Firsrt of all, with this experiment, I learnt what a conductor is and how to identify them. Conductors are materials that transfer heat easily. You can identify them if the material gets hotter when heated. I also learnt how conductors work. When an object is heated, its molecules move faster and more collisions occur. The collisions with the slow-moving particles of the cold substance result in a transfer of kinetic energy that heats up the object. Finally, I learnt that metals conduct heat and thermal energy at different rates, aka some metals are better conductors than others, however, sometimes, that is not a positive point!