Share this free teaching resource video, Convection – Who Cares? with your KS3 science students.
Convection isn’t the most thrilling of topics – correct? Well, actually, you couldn’t be more wrong! Convection around the home can affect our lives in many ways. It is the process via which kettles boil water, rooms are heated and the reason why refrigerators have ice boxes installed at the top of the appliance. Convection can also affect our lives in pretty major ways too. From wild weather such as thunderstorms and hurricanes to seismic shocks in the Earth’s crust, convection is responsible for natural phenomena that can cause catastrophes on a global scale.
In this video from the genetically engineered “Science Geeks”, we see how convection occurs in liquids and gases and examine its effect on our everyday lives. We see how it influences the design of homes and appliances and also learn how convection causes sea breezes and land breezes at the coast. Convection’s role in more destructive phenomena is also explained and we are shown why this method of heat transfer is in many ways the most important one of all. Short and informative with simple animations and explanations, this video summarises the key points for this topic in a well explained, humorous way. Enjoy.
Follow on tasks:
- Draw a diagram showing how the particles in a beaker of water behave, as a liquid is heated at one side. Show how the convection current is set up.
- Convection causes wind at the seaside. Explain how a sea breeze is a result of convection.
- Make a presentation with the title Convection – Who Cares? showing how convection impacts on our everyday lives.
By Mark Prince for Smart Learning