The Immersion Heater Example

Question 1

1. Where is energy transferred from?

Answer 1

The heater coils to the thermal energy store of the water by conduction

Question 2

2. What happens to the particles near the coils?

What does this mean?

Answer 2

Get more energy, so they start moving around faster. This means there’s more distance between them I,e the water expands and becomes less dense

Question 3

3. What does the reduction in density mean?

Answer 3

That hotter water tends to rise above the denser, cooler water

Question 4

4. What happens as the hot water rises?

Answer 4

It displaces the colder water out of the way, making it sink towards the heater coils

Question 5

5. What is done to the cold water?

Answer 5

The cold water is then heated by the coils and rises - and so it goes on.

Question 6

6. What do you end up with?

Answer 6

convection currents going up, round and down, circulating the energy trough the water

Question 7

What are convection currents all about?

Answer 7

Changes in density

Question 8

When/where is convection most efficient and why?

Answer 8

In roundish or squarish containers, because they allow the convection currents to work best