An equal amount of heat is transferred to two containers containing water at the same temperature. If the
second container contains three times as many water molecules as the first, how do the final temperatures
compare?
To compare the final temperatures of the two containers, we need to understand the concept of heat capacity, which measures the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance.
Heat capacity is directly proportional to the number of molecules in a substance. In other words, the more molecules a substance has, the greater its heat capacity.
In this scenario, the second container contains three times as many water molecules as the first. This means that the heat capacity of the second container is three times greater than that of the first container.
Now, when an equal amount of heat is transferred to both containers, it will be distributed among the water molecules. Since the second container has a greater heat capacity, the heat energy will be spread out more, resulting in a smaller increase in temperature compared to the first container.
Therefore, the final temperature of the second container will be lower than that of the first container.