GCSE Physics for You, Fifth Edition

Answers to End-of-chapter questions

for Chapter 9, Conduction, Convection and Radiation

It is very important that you are able to answer the questions on your own, using your
own knowledge of Physics.
Have a go at the questions first, and then check your answers using this page.
If you get a question wrong, try to work out where you have made an error.

1. a) conduction; conductors; conductors, insulators

b) convection; falls, rises

c) infra-red, reflected; good, good; poor, poor

d) radiation, conduction, convection

2. a) Copper and aluminium are better conductors than iron, so the energy is more
easily transferred to the food.

b) Air is a good insulator, and the fur traps air bubbles better if worn with the
fur on the inside.

c) The air between the sheets of paper forms a good insulator.

d) Fat is a good insulator.

e) The air in the carpet makes it a better insulator, so that thermal energy is
lost more slowly from the feet.

f) Air is trapped between the blankets to make a good insulator.

g) Chunks of snow contain a lot of air trapped between the snowflakes, so it

insulates from extreme cold temperatures. Ice does not contain the same
amount of air and conducts away the thermal energy more quickly.

3. [See the 7 labels on the second diagram on page 43.]

Pay-back time for the roof = 2 years

Reason: the saving each year is £200 (£250 − £50). Insulation costs £400, so paid
back in 2 years.

Pay-back time for the walls = 3 years

Reason: the saving each year is £250 (£350 − £100). Insulation costs £750, so
paid back in 3 years.

So he should insulate the roof first.

4. a) Warm air is less dense than cold air, and so it rises upwards.

OUP GCSE Physics for You, Fifth Edition © Keith Johnson & Sue Holt, 2016   page 1 of 3
GCSE Physics for You, Fifth Edition

b) The warm air rises up the chimney and so fresh air must enter the room to
replace it.

c) The smoke, like the warm air, will rise to the ceiling. So, the air near the
floor is fresher.

d) The hotter water rises and is replaced by colder water, which is then heated
by the element, so eventually it is all heated. An element at the top of the
kettle would only heat the top layer of water.

e) The colder air falls, and is replaced by warmer air, to be cooled by the
freezer, so eventually it is all cooled. A freezer at the bottom would only cool
the bottom layer of air.

f) See the diagram and explanation on page 45.

g) See page 45; force of the upward convection current on the wings must be at
least equal to the weight of a mass of 500 kg.

h) See page 150 and page 377.

5. [See page 44 and explain it step by step.]

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GCSE Physics for You, Fifth Edition

6. a) The shiny teapot is a poorer radiator, so it loses less thermal energy than the
dull brown one, so it stays hotter for longer.

b) The shiny material reflects the radiation better, so the person inside will not
get as hot.

c) The dull-black would absorb more of the radiation from the Sun, and the
astronaut might over-heat.

d) When there are clouds overhead they reflect some of the radiation that the
Earth emits back to Earth. Whereas on a clear night the radiation is lost into
space, so it is more likely to be frosty.

e) The back of a refrigerator is warm (see page 56), and the fridge works better
if this energy is lost into the room. Painting it black helps it to radiate the
energy away.

f) The black paper will absorb more energy from the Sun than the white paper.
So, the black paper will melt the snow quicker and sink into the snow.

g) Because the black soot would absorb energy from the Sun faster, it would
increase the melting of the polar ice-caps.

7. See the diagram and explanation on page 48.

For the ‘greenhouse effect’, see also pages 110–111.

8. See the diagram and explanation on page 49.

9. a) Aluminium is a good thermal conductor, so it conducts away the thermal

energy to keep the chip cool.

b) The large fins help to transfer the thermal energy to the air by convection
currents. The larger area of the fins also helps to radiate away more energy.

c) The black surface makes it a better radiator, so it loses energy more quickly
by radiation transfer.

OUP GCSE Physics for You, Fifth Edition © Keith Johnson & Sue Holt, 2016   page 3 of 3