CONVECTION CELLS-UPDATED
ANSWER KEY.
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?
It has the highest temperature.
2. Why do you think some of the soup is sinking
down?
The effects of boiling.
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? It is moving
in a circle.
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?
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, It floats up and down 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?
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