Joshua fills one large container with cold water. Then he fills a small container with hot water and red food coloring, and seals it with a lid. Next, he puts the small container into the large container and removes the lid of the small container. He observes the red colored water from the small container rising up to the top of the cold water. Which TWO statements explain why this happens?

Question

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The phenomenon described can be explained by two key concepts: density differences and temperature effects on fluid behavior.

Density Differences: Hot water is less dense than cold water. When the lid of the small container is removed, the red hot water (which is less dense) rises to the top of the cold water in the large container, which is denser. This is due to the principle that less dense fluids will float on top of denser fluids.
Temperature Effects on Fluid Behavior: The hot water has a higher kinetic energy than the cold water, causing it to move more vigorously. This increased movement facilitates the rising of the hot water and the red food coloring through the cold water, as the hot fluid tends to rise and create convection currents.

Together, these explanations clarify why the red colored water from the small container rises to the surface of the cold water in the large container.