Question

If a hot tub gave you -3,000 J of heat energy, how much heat did you absorb, assuming none was lost?

A) -3,000 J
B) 3,000 J
C) -3,000 J (heat cannot be absorbed in negative values)
D) 0 J

Answer 1

The hot tub is removing heat from your body, indicated by the negative sign in -3,000 J. So, you do not absorb any heat; instead, you lose heat, hence the correct answer is 0 J.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a hot tub gives you -3,000 J of heat energy, it means that it is removing heat from your body, not adding it. In the context of physics and specifically thermodynamics, the sign convention is that when a system absorbs heat, the amount of heat is positive; and when the system loses heat, the amount is negative. Therefore, assuming no heat is lost to the surroundings and that all of the heat energy from the hot tub is transferred to you, the amount of heat you absorb would be none, because the hot tub is actually taking heat from you. The correct answer is D) 0 J.