In this article, the concept of gradient thickness is further extended to characterize the gradient behavior of the thermal and momentum boundary layer near a solid surface. The gradient thickness can replace the use of the conventional of the Nusselt and Reynolds numbers in terms of the gradient thickness provides a much easier grasp of the physical and practical meaning of the processes involved. Although there is no urgent need to discard the concept of the conventional convective heat transfer coefficient, the concept of the gradient thickness is believed to serve an efficient tool in helping students understand physics.