What are the steps involved in the reflex pathway that would cause you to automatically move your hand off of a hot surface?

Heat is sensed by temperature receptors in the skin of the hand. The signal generated by the receptors in response to heat travels along a sensory neurone to the spinal cord. The signal causes the release of chemicals at the end of the sensory neurone. The chemicals travel across the synapse (A synapse is a space separating two neurones). This chemical signal activates a relay neroune in the spinal cord. The relay neurone then activates a motor neurone in the same way as it was activated (via a chemical sign). The motor neurone leaves the spinal cord and synapses with the muscles that will move the hand away from the source of the heat. The motor neurone signal causes the muscles to contract and so the hand moves.