Question

Given the law of conservation of energy, what happens when a 200°C iron bar is placed in thermal contact with a 30°C block of wood?

a) Energy leaves the iron bar and enters the wood until the temperatures are equal.
b) Energy leaves the wood and enters the iron bar until the temperatures are equal.
c) All the energy from the iron bar is transferred to the wood.
d) All the energy from the wood is transferred to the iron bar.

Answer 1

When a 200°C iron bar is placed in thermal contact with a 30°C block of wood, energy leaves the wood and enters the iron bar until the temperatures are equal.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a 200°C iron bar is placed in thermal contact with a 30°C block of wood, heat flows from the hotter object (the iron bar) to the cooler object (the wood) until both objects reach the same temperature. This is because of the law of conservation of energy which states that the total energy in a closed system remains constant. Therefore, the correct answer is b) Energy leaves the wood and enters the iron bar until the temperatures are equal.