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A burning match and a bonfire may have the same temperature, yet you would not sit around a burning match on a fall evening to stay warm. Why not?

a) The match has lower specific heat capacity than the bonfire.
b) The match emits less radiation compared to the bonfire.
c) The match has higher thermal conductivity than the bonfire.
d) The match has lower thermal expansion properties compared to the bonfire.

User NoizWaves
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Final answer:

A match emits less radiation compared to a bonfire because it contains a much smaller amount of wood; the extensive property of heat output determines its warming ability, not the match's specific physical properties.

Step-by-step explanation:

A burning match and a bonfire may have the same temperature, but the amount of heat they can provide is vastly different. This difference is due to the amount of material being burned. A match contains a small amount of wood, and so it can only produce a small amount of heat.

On the other hand, a bonfire is made up of a large amount of wood, which can release a significant amount of heat. As a result, while both a match and a bonfire could theoretically have the same temperature, which is an intensive property dependent on the material, the total heat output, an extensive property, is what ultimately determines their ability to warm the surrounding area.

The correct answer to the question is b) The match emits less radiation compared to the bonfire. The critical factor here is the amount of material being combusted and the consequent heat output, not the specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, or thermal expansion properties. The bonfire, with much more material, emits a greater amount of infrared radiation, which is the key to providing warmth to people sitting around it.

User Lysdexia
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