Transferring heat from one object to another is called _________________.

Transferring heat from one object to another through direct contact is specifically defined as conduction. In this process, heat flows from a hotter object to a cooler object until thermal equilibrium is reached. This occurs at the molecular level, where faster-moving (hotter) molecules collide with slower-moving (cooler) ones, transferring energy in the form of heat.

While convection involves the transfer of heat through fluids (liquids or gases) via the motion of the fluid itself, and radiation refers to heat transfer through electromagnetic waves without the need for a medium, neither is precisely what is described in this question. Insulation, on the other hand, refers to materials that reduce the rate of heat transfer, but it does not describe a mechanism of heat transfer itself. Thus, the most accurate term for transferring heat directly from one object to another is conduction.