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. (4 points) Make the answer as simple as possible.

Answer 1

As the glass of water was placed in the freezer, the temperature of the water decreased, causing its thermal energy to reduce. This lowering of temperature resulted in a decrease in the kinetic energy of the water molecules, leading them to move closer together and form solid ice as heat was released.