Question

1. a space probe traveling in space has no air around it. which type of heat transfer allows its surface to get hot from the sun — and why do the other two types not work in space?

Explanation:

Heat transfer occurs in three ways: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction requires direct contact between materials. Convection involves the movement of fluids (liquids or gases). In space, there is no air (a fluid) and no direct physical contact between the Sun and the space probe (since they are separated by a vacuum). Radiation, however, does not require a medium. It transfers heat in the form of electromagnetic waves (like light). The Sun emits energy as electromagnetic radiation (including infrared, which we feel as heat), and this radiation travels through the vacuum of space to the space probe.

Answer:

Radiation is the type of heat transfer that allows the space probe's surface to get hot from the Sun. Conduction does not work because there is no direct physical contact (the Sun and probe are not touching). Convection does not work because there is no fluid (like air or liquid) in space to carry the heat through bulk movement.