This document provides instructions for conducting a lab experiment to measure the conduction rate of different metals. Materials needed include rods of aluminum, steel, brass and copper, paper clips, a ruler, tin foil, matches, candles, Bunsen burners, goggles and a stopwatch. The rods are prepared by attaching paper clips at 5 cm intervals using melted wax. Each rod is then heated in a Bunsen burner flame and the stopwatch is started. The time for each paper clip to fall off as the heat conducts through the rod is recorded. After testing, the rods are cooled in water and the work area is cleaned.

1. Conduction Rate Lab
The set up…

2. Materials
• Ring stand and clamp
• matches
• candle
• Aluminum, steel, brass and copper rods (1 of
each)
• Bunsen burners
• Tin foil
• 12 paper clips
• Goggles
• stopwatch

3. Materials

4. The rods

5. Setting up the rods
• Place the ruler on the tin foil.
• Lay a rod alongside it and place 3
paperclips at 5 cm. Intervals.
• Light a candle. Be sure to have on your
goggles.
• Drip 3 drops of wax at the point where the
paperclip touches the rod.
• Allow a short amount of time for the wax to
cool and harden.

6. 5 cm increments

7. Light a candle

8. Add 3 drops of wax

9. 3 clips attached

10. Setting up the Bunsen Burner
• Firmly push the hose onto the gas nozzle
located on the lab table.
• One partner should prepare a match while the
other gets ready to turn on the gas (the gas is on
when the handle is over the nozzle, off when it is
at a 90° angle to the nozzle).
• Light the match. The partner should turn on the
gas.
• Adjust the flame so that it is blue and controlled.

11. Attaching the hose

12. Attaching the rods to the stand
• To attach the rods to the ring stand, use
the screw found on the side of the elbow
clamp.
• Bring the stand and rod over to the lit
Bunsen burner.
• Use the other screw to adjust the height
of the rod so that when placed in the flame
it will be about 1.5 cm above the bottom of
the burner, directly in the flame.

13. Clamping the rod

14. Adjusting the height

15. Testing
• Once the rod is placed in the blue flame,
start the stopwatch.
• Continue timing as the heat conducts
through the rods and paperclips fall off.
• Record the time when the 5 cm., 10 cm.,
and 15 cm. paper clips fall off.
• DO NOT STOP THE STOPWATCH AS
PAPER CLIPS FALL OFF.

16. Timing

17. Paper clips falling off

18. Recording data

19. Clean up
• Once all 3 paper clips have fallen off,
carefully remove the rod and place it hot
side down in the coffee can filled with
water.
• Scrape all wax off of the paper clips onto
the tin foil (not like in the picture!).
• Dump all excess wax into the garbage.
• Set all materials up as they were when
you entered the lab.

20. Cooling off the rods

21. Scrape wax off the paper clips

22. Dumping the excess wax

23. Making Mr. Rand happy with a
clean lab.

24. Resetting the station