Janica placed an ice cube in her thermos of hot coffee. Which of the following describes the change to the energy in the system?
Responses
a. Energy was transferred from the ice cube to the coffee, and the total energy in the system decreased.
b. Energy was transferred from the ice cube to the coffee, but the total energy in the system remained constant.
c. Energy was transferred from the coffee to the ice cube, but the total energy in the system remained constant.
d. Energy was transferred from the coffee to the ice cube, and the total energy in the system increas
ed.
a. Energy was transferred from the ice cube to the coffee, and the total energy in the system decreased.
are you sure?
I apologize for the error in my initial response. The correct answer is:
c. Energy was transferred from the coffee to the ice cube, but the total energy in the system remained constant.
When the ice cube is placed in the hot coffee, energy is transferred from the higher temperature coffee to the lower temperature ice cube until they reach thermal equilibrium. The total energy in the system remains constant because energy is conserved within the closed system of the coffee and ice cube. Thank you for your patience and for pointing out the mistake.