Final answer:
Heat can be transferred by conduction, convection, and radiation.
Conduction is direct heat transfer between contacting materials, convection is movement of heat within fluids, and radiation transfers heat through electromagnetic waves without needing physical medium.
Step-by-step explanation:
In physics, the transfer of heat can occur in three ways: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the transfer of heat through direct contact between materials.
An example is when a metal spoon gets hot from the boiling water it is in. Convection involves the movement of heat by the mass movement of molecules within fluids (gases and liquids), such as with the warm air that rises above a heater. Lastly, radiation is the transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves, such as the heat felt from the Sun's rays.
Conduction occurs on a molecular level where atoms or molecules transfer heat to adjoining atoms or molecules without the bulk material moving.
In contrast, convection relies on the movement of warm and cool areas within a fluid, which can create currents as seen in boiling water. On the other hand, radiation does not require a medium to travel through and can occur through a vacuum, as is the case with the Sun's energy reaching Earth.