Question

Kalani and Lael are students who have been asked to explain why freeze ray guns can't shoot "cold" at people. Read and compare

their arguments. Then, answer the questions below.
Kalani's Argument
A freeze ray cannot shoot "cold" because cold can't be
transferred from one thing to another. Only energy can
transfer.
Lael's Argument
A freeze ray cannot shoot "cold" because cold is not an object.
it is a description of an object whose molecules have a small
amount of kinetic energy.
In order to make something colder, kinetic energy has to be
transferred out of it. Energy always transfers from the warmer
thing to the colder thing, so you would have to put an even
colder thing next to the person you were shooting so the
kinetic energy would transfer out.

Answer 1

Heat transfer occurs from a warmer object to a cooler one, not the other way around. Therefore, a hypothetical freeze ray gun can't shoot 'cold' because cold is not something that can be transferred; instead, it's the absence of heat, which is the actual energy being transferred.

Step-by-step explanation:

When two objects at different temperatures come into contact, energy transfer occurs due to the temperature difference. This process is known as heat transfer, where heat flows spontaneously from the warmer object to the cooler one until the temperatures equalize. According to the law of thermodynamics, cold objects do not transfer coldness to warmer objects; rather, warm objects transfer heat to cold objects. For instance, when holding an ice cube, it feels cold because heat energy is flowing from your hand into the ice, not because the ice is projecting coldness. Similarly, a freeze ray cannot shoot "cold" at someone because you cannot transfer "cold", only thermal energy can be transferred, which always moves from an object with higher kinetic energy to one with lower kinetic energy.