A student is conducting an investigation on energy transfer. She places three hot objects of the same mass into equal masses and temperatures of cold water. She then measures the final temperature of each object. The data is shown below.

Question

Substance Mass
(g) Initial
Temperature
(°C) Final
Temperature
(°C)
X 50 80 71
Y 50 80 22
Z 50 80 55

What does this data demonstrate?
A.
Some materials give off thermal energy when placed in cooler environments, but most materials do not.
B.
The type of material affects the amount of energy needed to cause a temperature change.
C.
The temperature change of an object is not affected by its mass nor the material it is made of.
D.
The temperature change of an object is only affected by what material it is made of.

Answer 1

The data presented shows that the three different substances (X, Y, and Z) have the same initial temperature and mass, but achieve different final temperatures when placed in cold water. This indicates that the amount of thermal energy transferred to the cold water varies between the materials.

The interpretation that best aligns with the observations is:

B. The type of material affects the amount of energy needed to cause a temperature change.

This option effectively captures the essence of the investigation, highlighting how different materials respond to the same initial conditions in terms of temperature change.