Question

shawna planted two identical seeds in separate pots of soil. on a cold night, she put both pots outside and covered one with a thick plastic sheet. this table shows how the temperature of each seed changed over 2 hours.

seed	initial temperature (°c)	final temperature (°c)
seed in the uncovered pot	10	2

the next time shawna leaves a seed in a pot of soil outside, she does not want the seed to cool down quickly. what should she do to minimize the rate of thermal energy transfer out of the seed?

options:

• cover the pot
• leave the pot uncovered
• either; the rate of thermal energy transfer is the same whether or not the pot is covered

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze temperature change

For the covered pot: Initial temp \(12^\circ\text{C}\), Final temp \(6^\circ\text{C}\), change \(12 - 6 = 6^\circ\text{C}\) over 2 hours.
For the uncovered pot: Initial temp \(10^\circ\text{C}\), Final temp \(2^\circ\text{C}\), change \(10 - 2 = 8^\circ\text{C}\) over 2 hours.

Step2: Determine effect of covering

The covered pot had a smaller temperature drop (slower heat loss). So to minimize thermal energy transfer (slow cooling), covering the pot reduces heat loss.

Answer:

cover the pot