In the cooling rate of water experiment, what data presentation is used to determine the cooling rate?

• A. Plot Temperature vs Time
• B. Plot Temperature vs Volume
• C. Plot Time vs Distance
• D. Plot Volume vs Time

Answer: (A)

Cooling rate means how fast the temperature decreases per unit time. To measure that directly, you need to track temperature as time passes, so you plot temperature against time. The slope of that graph shows the rate of cooling (a negative slope indicates cooling; its magnitude is the rate). Plotting temperature against volume or time against distance wouldn’t give you how quickly the temperature is changing, because they relate temperature to other quantities, not to time itself. Therefore, Temperature vs Time is the data presentation that allows you to determine the cooling rate.