Question

Identify whether the heat transfer in each of the following situations is primarily due to convection, conduction, or radiation:

1. You burn your feet on hot sand.
2. You microwave a hot pocket.
3. You bite into the hot pocket then burn your tongue because it's hot.
4. You burn your hand on your wood-burning stove.
5. Smoke and ash from your woodstove go up the chimney.
6. As you walk across the parking lot in the summer, you feel the hot air rising off the pavement."

Answer 1

Heat transfer in the given situations occurs via conduction when there is direct physical contact, via radiation when electromagnetic waves are emitted or absorbed, and via convection when heat is transferred by the macroscopic movement of a fluid.

Step-by-step explanation:

Each situation described involves one of the three primary methods of heat transfer: conduction, convection, or radiation.

1. When you burn your feet on hot sand, the heat transfer is due to conduction, as the heat is transferred through direct contact with the hot sand.
2. When you microwave a hot pocket, the heat transfer is primarily due to radiation, with microwaves being used to heat the food.
3. Burning your tongue after biting into a hot pocket involves conduction, where the heat from the hot pocket is transferred directly to your tongue.
4. If you burn your hand on a wood-burning stove, conduction is responsible for the transfer of heat from the hot stove surface to your hand.
5. The movement of smoke and ash from a woodstove going up the chimney is an example of convection, as the hot air rises and carries particles with it.
6. Feeling hot air rising off the pavement in a parking lot during summer is also due to convection, as the heat from the pavement warms the air, causing it to rise.