A student stirs a cup of hot chocolate with a cold metal spoon and observes that the spoon becomes warmer.
According to the law of conservation of energy, which answer choice best describes why the spoon became warmer?
• The high-energy spoon particles destroy some of the hot chocolate particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.
• The high-energy hot chocolate particles transfer some of their energy to the spoon particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.
• The high-energy hot chocolate particles transfer some of their energy to the spoon particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.
The correct answer is: The high-energy hot chocolate particles transfer some of their energy to the spoon particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.
The correct answer is:
• The high-energy hot chocolate particles transfer some of their energy to the spoon particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.
According to the law of conservation of energy, energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred or transformed from one form to another. In this case, when the student stirs the hot chocolate with a cold metal spoon, the high-energy hot chocolate particles transfer some of their energy to the spoon particles. This transfer of energy increases the kinetic energy (motion) of the spoon particles, causing the spoon to become warmer. Therefore, the answer choice that best describes why the spoon becomes warmer is:
• The high-energy hot chocolate particles transfer some of their energy to the spoon particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.