Question

Which experimental setup would let a student investigate the connection between kinetic energy and temperature?(1 point) Responses placing one drop of food coloring in a cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC; placing one drop of food coloring in a second cup with 100 mL of water at 10ºC placing one drop of food coloring in a cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC; placing one drop of food coloring in a second cup with 100 mL of water at 10ºC placing one drop of food coloring in a cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC; placing two drops of food coloring in a second cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC placing one drop of food coloring in a cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC; placing two drops of food coloring in a second cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC placing one drop of food coloring in a cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC; placing two drops of food coloring in a second cup with 100 mL of water at 40ºC placing one drop of food coloring in a cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC; placing two drops of food coloring in a second cup with 100 mL of water at 40ºC placing one drop of food coloring in a cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC; placing one drop of food coloring in a second cup with 50 mL of water at 40ºC

Answer 1

To investigate the connection between kinetic energy and temperature, the best experimental setup would be:

Placing one drop of food coloring in a cup with 50 mL of water at 10ºC; placing two drops of food coloring in a second cup with 100 mL of water at 40ºC.

This setup allows the student to compare the dispersion rates of the food coloring (which is affected by the kinetic energy of the molecules) at two different temperatures. The higher temperature (40ºC) will generally increase the kinetic energy of the water molecules, leading to a quicker diffusion of the food coloring compared to the lower temperature (10ºC). This experiment would clearly show the relationship between kinetic energy and temperature.