A student wants to show the transfer of heat energy without matter. Which investigation design would best help the student?

Answer 1

One possible investigation design that would best help the student is a double-walled container experiment.

In this design, the student can take two identical containers, one with a double-walled construction and the other with a single wall construction. The double-walled container would have an air gap or vacuum between the two walls, which would serve to minimize the transfer of heat energy through conduction or convection.

The student can then fill both containers with hot water and measure the temperature of the water in each container over time using thermometers. By comparing the rate of temperature change in the double-walled container to the single-walled container, the student can observe and demonstrate that less heat energy is transferred in the double-walled container, which is evidence that heat energy can be transferred without matter.