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What Is Conduction? — Reading Comprehension

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Grades

Standards

MS-PS3
HS-PS3
RI.6.3
RI.7.1

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This middle school science passage explains the concept of conduction, focusing on how heat moves through solids. Aligned with NGSS standards for energy and matter (MS-PS3), the passage helps students understand real-world examples like touching a metal spoon or feeling a cold doorknob. Key vocabulary terms like 'conductors' and 'insulators' are introduced in a way that builds reading comprehension skills while reinforcing science concepts. Students learn how engineers use knowledge of conduction to design everyday objects and why materials like wood and metal behave differently. By exploring conduction in simple terms, this reading activity supports science literacy, critical thinking, and application of NGSS practices.

CONTENT PREVIEW

Have you ever touched a metal doorknob on a cold day and felt the chill? Or grabbed a metal spoon from a hot pot and uickly pulled your hand away? That feeling comes from conduction—the way heat moves through solids.

Conduction happens when heat passes from one particle to another. In solids, the particles are packed very close together. When one particle gets warmer, it starts to move faster. It bumps into the particles next to it, passing the heat along. This is how the heat moves through the material.

Metals are some of the best conductors of heat. That’s why pots and pans are made of metal—they heat up uickly and cook food evenly. Other materials, like wood or plastic, are poor conductors. They do not let heat move through them easily. These materials are called insulators.

Think about cooking. If you stir soup with a metal spoon, the spoon gets hot because heat from the soup travels through the spoon to your hand. But if you use a wooden spoon, it stays cool because wood doesn’t conduct heat well.

Conduction is important in many parts of our lives. Engineers think about conduction when they design buildings, cars, and even space rockets! They choose the right materials to either move heat around or stop it from moving.

Fun Fact: Some animals, like polar bears, have thick fur that acts like an insulator. This helps them keep their body heat from escaping into the cold air!

What is the main idea of the passage?

How to cook food using metal spoonsWhat conduction is and how it worksWhy polar bears are good swimmersHow to build a space rocket

What is conduction?

Heat moving through liquidsHeat passing through solids by particle collisionsHeat traveling through air in wavesHeat created by the Sun

Which material is a good conductor of heat?

PlasticWoodMetalCotton

What word describes a material that does NOT let heat move easily?

ConductorInsulatorReactorEvaporator

Why does a wooden spoon stay cool when stirring hot soup?

Wood is a good conductorWood is a good insulatorSoup cools it downThe handle is too short to get hot

According to the passage, why do engineers think about conduction?

To build taller buildingsTo help materials change colorTo control how heat moves in designsTo make things float