Equal volumes of hot water are added to two cans - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 7 - 2019 - Paper 1
Question 7
Equal volumes of hot water are added to two cans. The cans are identical apart from their surfaces.
One can has a black surface and the other can has a silver surfac... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Equal volumes of hot water are added to two cans - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 7 - 2019 - Paper 1
Step 1
Explain, using evidence from the graph, which curve is for the black can and which curve is for the silver can.
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Answer
The graph displays two cooling curves, labeled as curve P and curve Q. To determine which curve corresponds to the black can and which one corresponds to the silver can, we can analyze the rates at which they cool.
The black can, having a darker surface, would absorb heat more quickly and consequently lose heat at a faster rate compared to the silver can, which reflects more thermal radiation.
By observing the graph:
Curve P shows a steeper decline in temperature over the same time interval, indicating that this is the black can, as it cools faster.
Conversely, curve Q shows a more gradual decrease in temperature, which suggests this curve corresponds to the silver can, as it cools more slowly.