Science Fenns K-5Grades K to 5
A metal spoon and a wooden spoon standing in a mug of hot water with a child's hand near the handles.

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Heat: Conductors and Insulators

Which materials pass heat along and which slow it.

Lesson 19 of 40

Try this first

Before we start

Today’s story

Heat: Conductors and Insulators

Wes stirs hot chili with a metal spoon at his grandmother's stove. In a minute the handle is too hot to hold. He switches to a wooden spoon. The wooden spoon stays cool. Both sat in the same pot.

Heat moves from hot things to cold things. Some materials pass heat along fast. These are conductors. Metals are good conductors. Other materials slow heat down. These are insulators. Wood, foam, rubber and cloth are insulators.

We use both every day. A pan is metal so heat gets to the food. Its handle is plastic so your hand stays safe. A cooler is an insulator. It slows the heat. Here are the steps.

See it

Five steps. Every time.

    Hands on

    Spoon Heat Race

    25 minutes · Do this with a grown-up nearby

    You need

    • Warm tap water in a mug
    • A metal spoon
    • A wooden spoon
    • A plastic spoon
    • A thermometer or a small dab of butter
    • Timer
    • Notebook

    Do this

    1. Pour warm water into the mug.
    2. Predict which spoon handle will warm first.
    3. Place all three spoons in the mug at the same time.
    4. Touch each handle every thirty seconds and write warm or cool.
    5. Or place a small dab of butter on each handle and see which melts first.
    6. Record after three minutes.
    7. Sort the spoons as conductor or insulator.
    Write or draw: A table with Spoon, Prediction, Warm after how many seconds, and Result.

    Watch for: Notice which spoon heated first and which stayed cool. Notice that the metal one passed heat through to your hand.

    Safety: Use only warm tap water and never boiling water, and ask an adult to pour.

    Same every time

    Three rules

    Rule 1Heat moves from hot to cold.

    Always.

    Rule 2Metals conduct.

    They pass heat along fast.

    Rule 3Wood, foam and cloth insulate.

    They slow heat down.

    Grandpa Fenn’s notebook

    Say it like a scientist

    conductor
    A material that lets heat or electricity pass easily.
    insulator
    A material that slows heat or electricity.
    heat
    Energy that moves from hot things to cold things.
    material
    What an object is made of.

    Poppy’s quiz

    Six questions

    Tap an answer. Green means right. You will see why.

    Talk about it

    Say it out loud

    • How do you know a material is an insulator and not a conductor?
    • What do you use at home to keep hot things hot or cold things cold?
    Did you know

    A metal chair and a wooden chair in the same room are the same temperature, but the metal one feels colder because it pulls heat from your hand faster.

    Someone who does this

    A welder wears thick insulating gloves to work with hot metal.

    BeforeSound and Water WavesNext lessonElectricity: Conductors and Insulators