Final answer:
The best statement that describes energy conservation in heat engines is option B. The sum of the heat placed into the hot reservoir and the work collected equals the energy transferred from the cold reservoir.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a heat engine, the best statement that describes energy conservation is option B. The sum of the heat placed into the hot reservoir and the work collected equals the energy transferred from the cold reservoir.
Heat engines convert heat into work, but they cannot have perfect conversion of heat into work due to the second law of thermodynamics. Some waste energy is discharged to the cold body in the form of heat.
Efficiency of the heat engine can be expressed as the ratio of work output divided by the amount of energy input.