Some students investigate the cooling of different coloured cans - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 3 - 2012 - Paper 1
Question 3
Some students investigate the cooling of different coloured cans.
They use two cans each fitted with a thermometer.
Hot water is poured into the cans and the temper... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Some students investigate the cooling of different coloured cans - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 3 - 2012 - Paper 1
Step 1
Which row of the table shows the conditions they should use?
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Answer
To determine if a black can cools quicker than a silver can, the students must control certain variables to ensure that any change in temperature can be attributed to the color of the cans. Thus, the conditions in the table must be:
The volume of water in each can should be the same: This ensures that both cans have an equal amount of water to cool, preventing volume from influencing the cooling rate.
The size of the cans should be the same: This ensures that any differences in cooling are not due to differences in surface area or material properties of the cans.