Question

In a classroom experiment, students set up two beakers that each contain 1 L of water. The water in beaker X has a temperature of 20°C, and the water in beaker Y has a temperature of 80°C. The students drop 1 mL of food coloring into each beaker. They notice that the food coloring spreads out faster in beaker Y. The students' observations in this experiment demonstrate that

A. some matter is made of particles, while some matter is not.
B. particles of matter move faster at lower temperatures.
C. matter is made of energy, not particles.
D. particles of matter move faster at higher temperatures."

Answer 1

The food coloring spreads out faster in the warmer water because particles of matter move faster at higher temperatures, causing quicker diffusion. So, the correct option is D.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the classroom experiment you described, the observation that the food coloring spreads out faster in beaker Y, which contains water at 80°C compared to beaker X at 20°C, demonstrates that particles of matter move faster at higher temperatures. At higher temperatures, the kinetic energy of water molecules increases, which leads to a more rapid diffusion of the food coloring. Conversely, in the colder water of beaker X, the molecules have less kinetic energy and therefore move slower, resulting in slower diffusion of the food coloring. This can be related to the principle that as the temperature of a substance increases, so does the average kinetic energy of its particles, leading to a faster rate of chemical reactions and processes like diffusion.