Question

On a cold winter's day, if you left a cup of water sitting outside, it could freeze. Heat is transferred out of the water. Describe the behavior of the water molecules and how temperature is affected.

Answer 1

Explanation:

When a cup of water is left outside it could freeze because thermal energy of water gets transferred to the atmosphere. As a result, the temperature of water will decrease due to cooling effect.

Therefore, molecules of water will lose kinetic energy and the molecules come closer to each other. So, force of attraction between the molecules will increase.

Hence, water will freeze.

Answer 2

Well, when you leave the water outside, the molecules start to lose some thermal energy and they stop moving, making them more solid and less able to move around. Then, the water turns into ice.