Question

What happens to the average kinetic energy of water molecules as water freezes? A. It decreases as the water releases energy to its surroundings.
B. It increases as the water releases energy to its surroundings.
C. It increases as the water absorbs energy from its surroundings.
D. It decreases as the water absorbs energy from its surroundings.

Answer 1

Answer: Option (A) is the correct answer.

Explanation:

Kinetic energy is defined as the energy possessed by an object because of it's motion.

Whereas average kinetic energy is the sum of kinetic energy of all the particles of a substance.

Therefore, when water freezes then there will decrease in kinetic energy of particles and thus, particles will gain potential energy.

Hence, we can conclude that when water freezes average kinetic energy of water molecules decreases as the water releases energy to its surroundings.