Eric pours some iced tea into a glass. When he puts the iced tea in the glass, the energy of the glass decreases. What must be true of the energy of the iced tea?

Question

Responses

a
Its energy stays the same while the energy of the glass decreases.
Its energy stays the same while the energy of the glass decreases.

b
Its energy decreases while the energy of the glass decreases.
Its energy decreases while the energy of the glass decreases.

c
Its energy increases while the energy of the glass decreases.
Its energy increases while the energy of the glass decreases.

d
It is impossible to know without data on the number of molecules in each object.

Answer 1

The correct response is:

c Its energy increases while the energy of the glass decreases.

When Eric pours iced tea into the glass, the thermal energy of the iced tea (which is warmer than the glass) transfers to the glass, causing the glass's energy to decrease. This means the iced tea's energy increases as it loses some thermal energy to the glass, leading to a transfer of energy.