Need help preparing for the MCAT physics section? MedSchoolCoach expert, Ken Tao, will teach you what you need to know about conduction, convection, and radiation of heat transfer. Watch this video to learn how to do well on the physics section of the MCAT exam!
There are three primary types of heat transfer you need to be able to identify on the MCAT: conduction, convection, and radiation.
1. Conduction is heat transfer by direct contact. When an object at a higher temperature is brought into contact with an object at a lower temperature, heat will be transferred from the object of higher temperature to the object of lower temperature. Recall that temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules in a system. When two objects are brought into contact, the faster moving molecules in the hotter object will transfer their energy to the slower moving molecules in the colder object when they collide. The two objects can be liquid, solid, or gaseous, as long as they are in direct contact.
2. Convection is heat transfer by the motion of molecules in a fluid, which refers to both liquids and gases. How does this work? In a fluid, the warmer parts of the fluid expand and rise while the colder parts sink. If a single part of the fluid is warmed, those warm molecules will rise to the top above the cooler molecules. Solids do not expand and move when heated, and therefore cannot participate in convection.
3. Radiation is heat transfer using electromagnetic waves, such as visible light, UV light, gamma rays, etc. When electromagnetic waves strike an object, that object will absorb the wave and the energy associated with that electromagnetic wave. Radiation can occur through a solid, liquid, or gaseous medium, but unlike other forms of heat transfer does not explicitly require a medium: light can travel through a vacuum, such as the light from the sun traveling through the vacuum of space.
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