Activity #2: Heat Transfer So another logical question is how does one transfer heat? Clearly there must be some interaction of the particles that make up a substance, right?? As with all physics questions that answer would be both yes and no! The physics classroom does a great job of defining and giving examples of heat transfer. http:/www.physicsclassroom.com/class/thermalP/Lesson-1/Methods-of-Heat-Transfer In summary, conduction is like you burn your hand by grabbing a hot pan. Convection Is actually quite similar to windchill, only it does lower the temperature via transferring kinetic energy via evaporation. Radiation is quite succinctly, the transfer of heat from light! Mini-Experiment #4: 4. Begin by filling a glass cup/container with a bit of water, 200 mL or so. Next place the cup in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. After the microwave has stopped, grab an oven mit and remove the cup from the microwave. Write down what you discover below, including comments on the apparent water temperature, how much water is left, and humidity in the microwave after you take the cup out. DO NOT put your hand in the water! Simply make not of the temperature when you bring your hand close to the mug, without touching it. Mini-Experiment #5: 5. Wait 10 minutes with the microwave door open, and repeat the experiment with a room temperature glass mug/cup, and NO water! In the space below, write down answers to the same questions as in #4, including the temperature of the cup/mug. Again, for safety's sake, take the cup out with an oven mit and test the temperature of the mug by bringing your fingers close to the mug, without actually touching it. If all went well, you hopefully noticed that without water, the glass mug/cup did not heat up! That means no heat was transferred to it by the microwave, it was transferred to the water. How did this occur? Most of this explanation is appropriate for Physics 108, but in general terms, the microwave radiation generated by your microwave oven, is of the perfect energy to heat up water! This process of heating up, changing the temperature, is an example of radiative heat transfer. Activity #3: Calorimetry It is assumed here that you have read the textbook on calorimetry experiments and examples and so it is advised that you wait to perform this experiment until you have read that segment in the textbook