One student in the group questioned the prediction. "How can heat energy move? There is nothing moving from the can to the cup!" How would you respond to this student?

A)

The student is correct. Since nothing is being transferred from one location to the other, the prediction is incorrect.

B)

There is a change between the two containers. Heat from the hot water is being transferred to the water in styrofoam cup.

C)

Heat moves easily out of the metal can because it is a conductor, but stops when it moves into the styrofoam cup, an insulator.

D)

There is a change between the two containers. Kinetic energy from the hot water is being transferred to the water in styrofoam cup.

Answer: D) There is a change between the two containers. Kinetic energy from the hot water is being transferred to the water in styrofoam cup.

Explanation:

Heat is a type of energy that is manifested by an increase in temperature and comes from the transformation of other energies. The heat is originated by the vibratory movements of the atoms and the molecules that form the bodies.

As the temperature increases, the heat of the body increases because the kinetic energy of its molecules increases, they vibrate with greater intensity. When in contact with another substance, this energy is transferred by the collisions of the molecules of the first object with those of the second, movement that extends through the rest of the second substance, increasing its temperature.

It is said that heat flows from one substance to another that are in contact because of this transfer of kinetic energy that occurs between the molecules that compose them.