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Item NG030004: Food has less energy after it cools because energy (in the form of thermal energy) was transferred to the things the food is touching, such as the air and the counter, and energy (in the form of electromagnetic radiation) was transferred to things the food is not touching, such as the kitchen walls.

A person takes food out of a hot oven and lets the food cool on the counter. The food has less energy when it is cool. Which of the following describes what happened to the energy of the food?

  1. Energy was transferred by conduction to the things the food is touching, such as the air and the counter, and energy was transferred by electromagnetic radiation to things the food is not touching, such as the kitchen walls.
  2. Energy was transferred by conduction only to the things the food is touching, such as the air and the counter.
  3. Energy was transferred by electromagnetic radiation only to things the food is not touching, such as the kitchen walls.
  4. No energy was transferred to the things the food is touching or to things the food is not touching. The energy just disappeared as the food cooled.
Distribution of responses
Answer Choice
Overall
Grades
Gender
Primary Language
 
n = 1079
4–5
n = 0
6–8
n = 657
9–12
n = 422
Male
n = 548
Female
n = 515
English
n = 921
Other
n = 142
A. 36%N/A 37% 36% 36% 36% 36% 37%
B. 39%N/A 37% 43% 40% 40% 41% 29%
C. 13%N/A 14% 10% 13% 13% 12% 15%
D. 11%N/A 12% 11% 11% 11% 10% 18%