Name: Date:
Student Exploration: Convection Cells
Vocabulary: convection, convection cell, density, global conveyor belt, mantle, mid-ocean ridge,
subduction zone, vector, viscosity
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
You place a pot of soup on the stove. As the soup warms you notice some areas where soup is
rising up and other areas where soup is sinking down.
1. Why do you think some of the soup is rising up?
Because the soup became warm and less dense, so it
rose up.
2. Why do you think some of the soup is sinking down?
Because it is colder and denser than the other parts of
the soup.
Gizmo Warm-up
When fluids (gases or liquids) are heated, they tend to move.
This motion is called convection. In the Convection Cells
Gizmo, you will observe and experiment with convection both
in a laboratory setting and in several real-world examples.
To begin, note the laboratory setup on the MODEL tab. A
beaker of liquid is placed above a gas burner. Click Play ( ).
The burner is now heating the fluid.
1. What do you notice? The liquid inside the beaker is moving in a circular motion
2. Drag the eyedropper into the beaker just above the burner and let go to release a drop of
orange liquid into the beaker. What do you notice about the path of the drop?
The path of the drop is circular, the drop is moving in a circular motion.
Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Convection Click Reset ( ), and set Burner A to High.
Question: What causes convection cells to form?
This study source was downloaded by 100000839632511 from CourseHero.com on 02-20-2022 03:28:50 GMT -06:00
2019
https://www.coursehero.com/file/61830589/ConvectionCells-sheetdocx/
, 1. Hypothesize: Click Play, add a drop, and watch the motion of the liquid. Why do you think
convection tends to occur in heated fluids?
Because the heat allows the liquid to rise, while the less heated areas to sink. This pattern
then is able create a convection.
2. Observe: Click Clear drop. Under Show, select Temperature. The temperature scale runs
from red (hot) to dark blue (colder).
A. Where is the hottest liquid located? Right on top of the gas burner/left bottom corner
of the beaker.
B. Where is the coldest liquid located? On the surface of the beaker/any part of the
beaker far away from the gas burner.
C. Add a drop. Does the hottest liquid tend to rise or sink? Rise.
D. Does the coldest liquid tend to rise or sink? Sink.
3. Observe: Click Clear drop, and then add a new drop to the liquid. Turn on Show micro
view of drop. This view shows 21 molecules in the drop. Pay attention to how fast the
molecules move and how much space they occupy as the drop moves around the beaker.
(Note: If the drop gets stuck, add a new drop to the beaker.)
A. In which part of the beaker do the liquid molecules move fastest? Right on top of the
gas burner/left bottom corner of the beaker.
B. In which part are the liquid molecules most spread out? Right on top of the gas
burner/left bottom corner of the beaker.
4. Explore: Click Clear drop and drag the probe ( ) into the beaker. Density is defined as the
mass per unit volume. It is a measure of how tightly the particles of a substance are packed.
Move the probe to different parts of the beaker, observing the temperature and density.
A. What relationship do you observe between the temperature and density? The higher
the density of the liquid the lower the temperature of a liquid. The higher the
temperature of a liquid, the lower the density.
B. Why do you think this is so? The particles of a substance are not tightly packed when
the temperatures are high, which means less density because density is how tightly
the particles of a substance are packed. However, when the temperature of a
substance is low, the particles of the substances are packed tightly which means it
has a high density.
(Activity A continued on next page)
Activity A (continued from previous page)
5. Explain: In a liquid, objects denser than the liquid (such as rocks) tend to sink, while objects
less dense than the liquid (such as inflatable rafts) tend to rise. How does this relate to the
observed motions of the liquid in the beaker?
This study source was downloaded by 100000839632511 from CourseHero.com on 02-20-2022 03:28:50 GMT -06:00
2019
https://www.coursehero.com/file/61830589/ConvectionCells-sheetdocx/
Student Exploration: Convection Cells
Vocabulary: convection, convection cell, density, global conveyor belt, mantle, mid-ocean ridge,
subduction zone, vector, viscosity
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
You place a pot of soup on the stove. As the soup warms you notice some areas where soup is
rising up and other areas where soup is sinking down.
1. Why do you think some of the soup is rising up?
Because the soup became warm and less dense, so it
rose up.
2. Why do you think some of the soup is sinking down?
Because it is colder and denser than the other parts of
the soup.
Gizmo Warm-up
When fluids (gases or liquids) are heated, they tend to move.
This motion is called convection. In the Convection Cells
Gizmo, you will observe and experiment with convection both
in a laboratory setting and in several real-world examples.
To begin, note the laboratory setup on the MODEL tab. A
beaker of liquid is placed above a gas burner. Click Play ( ).
The burner is now heating the fluid.
1. What do you notice? The liquid inside the beaker is moving in a circular motion
2. Drag the eyedropper into the beaker just above the burner and let go to release a drop of
orange liquid into the beaker. What do you notice about the path of the drop?
The path of the drop is circular, the drop is moving in a circular motion.
Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Convection Click Reset ( ), and set Burner A to High.
Question: What causes convection cells to form?
This study source was downloaded by 100000839632511 from CourseHero.com on 02-20-2022 03:28:50 GMT -06:00
2019
https://www.coursehero.com/file/61830589/ConvectionCells-sheetdocx/
, 1. Hypothesize: Click Play, add a drop, and watch the motion of the liquid. Why do you think
convection tends to occur in heated fluids?
Because the heat allows the liquid to rise, while the less heated areas to sink. This pattern
then is able create a convection.
2. Observe: Click Clear drop. Under Show, select Temperature. The temperature scale runs
from red (hot) to dark blue (colder).
A. Where is the hottest liquid located? Right on top of the gas burner/left bottom corner
of the beaker.
B. Where is the coldest liquid located? On the surface of the beaker/any part of the
beaker far away from the gas burner.
C. Add a drop. Does the hottest liquid tend to rise or sink? Rise.
D. Does the coldest liquid tend to rise or sink? Sink.
3. Observe: Click Clear drop, and then add a new drop to the liquid. Turn on Show micro
view of drop. This view shows 21 molecules in the drop. Pay attention to how fast the
molecules move and how much space they occupy as the drop moves around the beaker.
(Note: If the drop gets stuck, add a new drop to the beaker.)
A. In which part of the beaker do the liquid molecules move fastest? Right on top of the
gas burner/left bottom corner of the beaker.
B. In which part are the liquid molecules most spread out? Right on top of the gas
burner/left bottom corner of the beaker.
4. Explore: Click Clear drop and drag the probe ( ) into the beaker. Density is defined as the
mass per unit volume. It is a measure of how tightly the particles of a substance are packed.
Move the probe to different parts of the beaker, observing the temperature and density.
A. What relationship do you observe between the temperature and density? The higher
the density of the liquid the lower the temperature of a liquid. The higher the
temperature of a liquid, the lower the density.
B. Why do you think this is so? The particles of a substance are not tightly packed when
the temperatures are high, which means less density because density is how tightly
the particles of a substance are packed. However, when the temperature of a
substance is low, the particles of the substances are packed tightly which means it
has a high density.
(Activity A continued on next page)
Activity A (continued from previous page)
5. Explain: In a liquid, objects denser than the liquid (such as rocks) tend to sink, while objects
less dense than the liquid (such as inflatable rafts) tend to rise. How does this relate to the
observed motions of the liquid in the beaker?
This study source was downloaded by 100000839632511 from CourseHero.com on 02-20-2022 03:28:50 GMT -06:00
2019
https://www.coursehero.com/file/61830589/ConvectionCells-sheetdocx/
