2 boxes sit below the header Mari and Sam. A box labeled Mari's Laptop contains 4 high energy molecules marked 30. Below is another box labeled Sam's Laptop containing 4 low energy molecules, each marked 10. 2 more boxes sit below the header Arun and Odessa. The box labeled Arun's Laptop contains 4 high energy molecules, each marked 30. Below is another box labeled Odessa's Laptop containing 9 low energy molecules, each marked 10.

Question

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15. Four people are putting their laptop computers away. Mari puts her laptop on Sam’s laptop, and Arun puts his laptop on Odessa’s laptop. The diagram above shows the laptops before they touch each other. Use the information in the diagram to answer the question.

After the laptops have been touching for a while, will Sam’s laptop or Odessa’s laptop be cooler, and why?

Responses

a
Sam’s laptop will be cooler than Odessa’s laptop, because less energy has to transfer for the molecules of Sam’s laptop to reach the same temperature as the molecules of Arun’s laptop.
Sam’s laptop will be cooler than Odessa’s laptop, because less energy has to transfer for the molecules of Sam’s laptop to reach the same temperature as the molecules of Arun’s laptop.

b
Both laptops will be the same temperature, because both Arun’s and Mari’s laptops had the same amount of energy to transfer and the molecules in Sam’s and Odessa’s laptops started with the same energy.
Both laptops will be the same temperature, because both Arun’s and Mari’s laptops had the same amount of energy to transfer and the molecules in Sam’s and Odessa’s laptops started with the same energy.

c
Odessa’s laptop will be cooler than Sam’s laptop, because Odessa’s started with more total energy, so less energy has to transfer for her and Arun’s laptops to reach the same total energy.
Odessa’s laptop will be cooler than Sam’s laptop, because Odessa’s started with more total energy, so less energy has to transfer for her and Arun’s laptops to reach the same total energy.

d
Odessa’s laptop will be cooler than Sam’s laptop, because the energy that transferred to Odessa’s was spread out over more molecules.
Odessa’s laptop will be cooler than Sam’s laptop, because the energy that transferred to Odessa’s was spread out over more molecules.

Answer 1

To determine which laptop will be cooler after they have been in contact for a while, let's analyze the energy levels and transfer based on the given information.

1. Energy in the Laptops:

   • Mari's Laptop: 4 high-energy molecules, each marked 30 (total = 4 * 30 = 120).
   • Sam's Laptop: 4 low-energy molecules, each marked 10 (total = 4 * 10 = 40).
   • Arun's Laptop: 4 high-energy molecules, each marked 30 (total = 4 * 30 = 120).
   • Odessa's Laptop: 9 low-energy molecules, each marked 10 (total = 9 * 10 = 90).

2. Energy Transfer:

   • When Mari’s laptop (120 energy) is placed on Sam’s laptop (40 energy), energy will transfer from Mari's laptop to Sam's until they reach equilibrium. Mari's laptop has significantly more energy.
   • When Arun’s laptop (120 energy) is placed on Odessa’s laptop (90 energy), energy will also transfer from Arun's laptop to Odessa's laptop until they reach equilibrium. Here, Arun's laptop has more energy than Odessa's.

3. Energy Distribution:

   • After energy transfer, Sam's laptop with only 40 energy initially has less energy compared to the high-energy molecules from Mari's laptop. As they reach equilibrium, Sam's laptop's molecules will gain energy but will still remain lower than what Arun's laptop is starting with.
   • Meanwhile, Odessa's laptop starts from a position of 90 energy, which means it begins with more energy compared to Sam's and has additional molecules (9 low-energy molecules).

Given the analysis above, once the laptops are put in contact and after some time:

• Sam's laptop will absorb energy from Mari's laptop, potentially increasing its temperature significantly more than Odessa's laptop, which will gain less comparative energy from Arun's laptop due to the distribution across multiple molecules.

Based on this explanation, the correct response is:

a
Sam’s laptop will be cooler than Odessa’s laptop because less energy has to transfer for the molecules of Sam’s laptop to reach the same temperature as the molecules of Arun’s laptop.

This reasoning is solid because it highlights how the number of molecules and their starting energy levels influence temperature changes. Thus, Odessa’s laptop is likely to remain cooler overall due to the greater number of lower-energy molecules compensating when energy is transferred.