A fisherman in a boat is drinking a cup of hot coffee. The large lake below his boat is full of cold water. Which statement is an accurate comparison of the lake water and the coffee?(1 point)

Responses

The lake will have more total thermal energy, and the particles in the lake water will be moving faster.
The lake will have more total thermal energy, and the particles in the lake water will be moving faster.

The coffee will have more total thermal energy, but the particles in the lake water will be moving faster.
The coffee will have more total thermal energy, but the particles in the lake water will be moving faster.

The coffee will have more total thermal energy, and the particles in the coffee will be moving faster.
The coffee will have more total thermal energy, and the particles in the coffee will be moving faster.

The lake will have more total thermal energy, but the particles in the coffee will be moving faster.

1 answer

To analyze the situation, we need to consider a few key points:

  1. Thermal Energy: Total thermal energy depends on both the temperature and the mass of the substance. The lake, being a large body of cold water, has a much greater total thermal energy due to its sheer volume, even if its temperature is lower than that of the coffee.

  2. Particle Movement: The temperature of a substance is a measure of the average kinetic energy of its particles. Therefore, the particles in the hot coffee, which has a higher temperature than the lake water, will be moving faster on average than the particles in the colder lake water.

Given this, the accurate comparison is:

The lake will have more total thermal energy, but the particles in the coffee will be moving faster.

This corresponds to the last option in your list.