Caleb is holding a metal block in his hand. What could he do to decrease the thermal energy of the block?
a) cool it
b) drop it
c) hit it
d) melt it
cool it
cool it
cool it
Cool it
cool it
cool it
I am a baby
cool it
To decrease the thermal energy of a metal block, Caleb could perform the following action:
a) Cool it: The process of cooling involves transferring heat energy from the block to the surrounding environment, thereby decreasing its thermal energy. Caleb can achieve this by placing the metal block in contact with a cooler medium such as ice, or by exposing it to a colder environment, such as a refrigerator or freezer. The transfer of heat will cause the metal block to lose thermal energy and decrease in temperature.
Note: Option b) dropping it, c) hitting it, and d) melting it might not necessarily decrease the thermal energy of the block. Dropping or hitting the metal block might only cause a temporary change in temperature due to displacing heat energy during the impact, but it will not actively decrease its thermal energy. Melting the metal block would require adding more heat energy to raise its temperature to the melting point, ultimately increasing its thermal energy. Therefore, option a) cooling it is the most appropriate choice to decrease thermal energy.