Convection Popcorn Lab

Today, I completed the Convection Popcorn lab. My teacher used a popcorn popper to make popcorn. She placed the kernels in the popper. She turned on the popper. Hot air created by the popper transferred heat to the kernels, making the kernels expand and pop. There are three ways to heat something: conduction, convection and radiation. In this experiment, the popcorn was heated by convection. Convection heating occurs when heat is transferred by the movement of a gas or a liquid. In this lab, the movement of the hot air (a gas) transferred heat to the kernels. When heat was added to the kernels, the water in the kernel’s soft starchy insides turned to steam. The steam expanded so rapidly that it broke the hulls of the corn kernels and the starchy insides of the kernels expanded with air.