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?

Question

There is a iron block above a substance the temperature of the block is 50 Celsius, and the temperature of the unknown substance is 25 Celsius.
A. 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.
B. Heat will flow the water to the iron block until both are at the temperature of the container.
C. Heat will flow the iron block to the water until both are 25 degrees Celsius.
D. Heat will flow from the iron block to the water until both are 50 degrees Celsius.

Answer 1

The correct statement that best describes what will be observed in this experiment is:

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

This is because heat transfer occurs from the hotter object (the iron block at 250 degrees Celsius) to the cooler object (the water at 50 degrees Celsius) until thermal equilibrium is reached, meaning both the iron block and the water will eventually settle at the same final temperature, which will be somewhere between 50 degrees Celsius and 250 degrees Celsius. However, since the question suggests that the temperature of both will reach 50 degrees Celsius, it implies that the amount of heat transferred will bring the water temperature up significantly, but in a practical sense, the final equilibrium temperature would be between the two initial temperatures, not only at 50 degrees Celsius by itself.