Question

You fill a glass with room temperature water from the sink and then place it in the freezer. After a few hours, you take the glass out and the water is now a solid. In two to three sentences explain what happened to the water in the glass as the temperature decreased. Key words to include for full points: kinetic energy, thermal energy, temperature, and heat

Answer 1

As the glass of water was placed in the freezer, the temperature of the water decreased, causing its thermal energy to drop. This reduction in temperature led to a decrease in the kinetic energy of the water molecules, resulting in them moving more slowly and eventually forming a solid as they reached the freezing point. The heat lost from the water was transferred to the colder environment of the freezer, facilitating this phase change from liquid to solid.