A student stirs a cup of hot chocolate with a cold metal spoon and observes that the spoon becomes warmer.

According to the law of conservation of energy, which answer choice best describes why the spoon became warmer?

• The high-energy spoon particles destroy some of the hot chocolate particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.
• The high-energy hot chocolate particles transfer some of their energy to the spoon particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.
• The high-energy hot chocolate particles transfer some of their energy to the spoon particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.

1 answer

The correct answer is: The high-energy hot chocolate particles transfer some of their energy to the spoon particles, which causes the spoon to become warmer.