Unit-2
2.2 Thermal and electrical conductors
Focus
1. Look at the picture of a lamp. a.(i) Which parts of the lamp are
electrical conductors?
All the metal parts: filament,
wires, base
(ii) Which part of the lamp is not an
electrical conductor?
The glass bulb
(b) Why are electrical plugs made of
plastic?
Plastic is not an electrical
conductor. The plastic protects you from
getting an electric shock when you touch
the plug.
(c)(i) Why could your hand got burnt if you stirred hot soup with a metal spoon?
Metals are good conductors of heat. The metal spoon would conduct the heat
from the soup to your hand, which could burn your hand.
(ii) Why is a wooden spoon good for stirring soup cooking in a pot?
Wood is not a good conductor of heat, so the wooden spoon would not get hot
and burn your hand.
Practice
2. The table shows how well some common metals conduct heat. A high value means that
the metal conducts heat very well.
(a)(i) List the metals in order from best conductor of heat to worst conductor of heat.
Silver, copper, aluminium, brass, iron, stainless steel
(ii) Draw a graph of the data.
(b)Why do some cooking pots have a copper bottom?
Copper is a good heat conductor, so it transfers heat from the stove quickly to
the food in the pot.
(c) Why do you think cooking pots are not made from silver?
Silver is much more expensive than copper, and copper is almost as good a heat
conductor as sliver.
(d) Why are car radiators which cool the engine made from copper and brass?
Copper and brass are good heat conductors, so they the transfer heat away
from the engine quickly to stop it overheating.
Challenge
3.(a) Will a block of ice melt quicker in a plastic dish or a metal dish of the same size? Say
why.
Ice will melt quicker in the metal dish. Metal is a better conductor of heat than
plastic, so heat energy is transferred more quickly through the metal to the ice. This is
why we saw the ice on the metal dish melt more quickly.
(b) If you touched a metal dish that contained an ice cube and a plastic dish that contained
an ice cube, which dish would feel warmer? Say why.
The plastic dish will feel warmer. When you touch the metal dish, energy from
your finger is conducted quickly into the metal. This lowers the temperature of your
hand, so the metal feels cold. Heat energy from your hand is conducted slowly into the
plastic because it is not a good thermal conductor, so your hand does not cool quickly
and you do not feel a lower temperature.
4.Class 6 asked the question: Is graphite an electrical conductor or not? They carried out an
investigation to find out. Each group tested different lengths of graphite in a circuit and
measured the brightness of a lamp in circuit on scale of 0–5 Averages of their results are
shown in the table.
(a) Identify the variables in the investigation:
dependent variable - brightness of lamp
Independent variable – the length of the
graphite
Control variables – the circuit
components
(b) Draw a graph of the data.
(c) Why did they work an average brightness for each length of graphite tested?
The measurement of brightness for each length of graphite could be slightly
different for each group. The average takes into account all the different values
measured (or similar answer).
(d) Describe the pattern seen in the results.
The brightness of the lamp increases as the length of graphite decreases.
(e) Predict the brightness of the lamp if Class 6 tested a 1 cm length of graphite. Add your
predicted brightness to the graph.
Learners should plot a brightness of 6 on the graph for a 1 cm length of
graphite.
(f) What is the answer to class 6’s question?
Graphite is a conductor and a non-conductor of electricity. The answer
depends on the length of graphite used. Longer lengths will conduct little or no
electricity.
