An iron block with a temperature of 250 degrees Celsius is placed into a container of water with a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius. Which statement best describes what will be observed in this experiment?

A. Heat will flow from the iron block to the water until both are 25 degrees Celsius.

B. Heat will flow from the iron block to the water until both are 50 degrees Celsius.

C. Heat will flow from the water to the iron block until both are at the temperature of the container.

D. Heat will flow from the iron block to the block to the water until both reach a temperature somewhere between 50 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius.

1 answer

The best statement to describe what will be observed in this experiment is:

B. Heat will flow from the iron block to the water until both are 50 degrees Celsius.

In this scenario, the iron block is initially at a higher temperature (250 degrees Celsius) compared to the water (50 degrees Celsius). Heat will flow from the hotter object (the iron) to the cooler object (the water) until thermal equilibrium is reached. However, since the water starts at a much lower temperature, it will absorb heat from the iron and increase in temperature until it reaches the same temperature as the iron block (assuming no heat is lost to the surroundings). However, the iron block will not cool down to 25 degrees Celsius, as that temperature is below the starting temperature of the water. The final equilibrium temperature will be somewhere between 50 degrees Celsius and the initial temperature of the iron (until the two reach the same temperature, which would likely exceed the water's starting temperature). Thus, the closest fitting statement here is B. However, it should be noted it may not accurately capture the end point of temperature equilibrium, but focuses on the direction of heat flow.

In a more precise context, it would be ideal to indicate that it would stop when both objects reach a common equilibrium temperature, which is likely to be greater than 50 degrees Celsius and less than 250 degrees Celsius, but (B) captures the general direction of heat transfer.