During the cooking process of a turkey in an oven, which mode of heat transfer is primarily responsible for heating the turkey?

When cooking a turkey in an oven, convection is the primary mode of heat transfer involved. In this process, hot air circulates around the turkey, transferring heat to the surface and subsequently cooking it through the movement of air.

In an oven, the heating elements warm the air, which then rises and spreads out. As it cools, it descends, creating a constant movement of warm air around the turkey. This circulating hot air cooks the turkey evenly, making convection particularly effective in this cooking method.

While conduction and radiation also play roles in the cooking process—conduction occurs as heat moves from the hot air to the turkey's surface, and radiation comes from the oven walls and heating elements—the predominant heat transfer that drives the overall cooking is convection due to the air movement around the turkey. Insulation, while important for keeping the heat contained within the oven, does not directly contribute to cooking the turkey itself.