Question 3 (1 point) You are cooking pasta and putting a pot of water on an electric stove. When the water starts to boil%2C you add the pasta. What energy transformation occurs to cook the pasta%3F a electric energy to heat energy b nuclear energy to heat energy c mechanical energy to light energy d heat energy to mechanical energy
d) heat energy to mechanical energy
To answer this question, we need to understand the concept of energy transformation and the cooking process.
When you put a pot of water on an electric stove, the stove uses electrical energy to generate heat energy. So, initially, the energy transformation happening is from electric energy to heat energy (Option A). The electric current flowing through the stove's coil heats up, and this heat energy is then transferred to the pot and the water, causing the temperature to rise.
Once the water starts to boil, you add the pasta. At this point, the primary energy transformation that occurs is from heat energy to mechanical energy. The heat energy from the boiling water is absorbed by the pasta, causing the water molecules in the pasta to vibrate rapidly. These vibrations increase the kinetic energy of the pasta molecules, thus cooking the pasta through the transfer of heat.
So, the correct answer to the question is d) heat energy to mechanical energy, as the heat energy is used to cook the pasta by increasing the kinetic energy of its molecules.