Tec de Monterrey Energy and Transformation

Name: ID: Group:

STAGE 1: Justification
An investigation is useful for a number of reasons: it may help to solve a social
problem, to formulate a theory or to generate new research concerns. What some
may consider relevant to investigate may not be relevant for others, since people's
opinions tend to differ.
Instructions: Fill in the required characteristics of your research topic.
Define your topic:
Thermal equilibrium
What is the objective of your research? (hypothesis)
Check by doing the experiment with different temperatures that, no matter how cold
or hot the containers are, will all take the same time to match their temperature.
Define the dependent and independent variables:
The dependent variable is the time it takes the temperature of both parts of water to
match, and the dependent variable is the temperature of the water.
Define the experiments you will run:
(Experiment will be done 50 times)
1. Prepare 2 glass containers of different sizes, one large enough to hold the
other, and water to perform all experiments.
2. Separate the water, heat a part in the stove and empty it into the smallest
container.
3. Place the remaining water in the refrigerator and empty it into the largest
container.
4. Put the small bowl with the hot water into the larger.
5. Immediately place thermometers on both parts of the water, record
temperatures and start taking time.
6. Constantly review the temperatures that mark the thermometers.
7. Once you reach the same temperature, stop the stopwatch.
8. Record the time it took to match the temperature.
9. Analyze the recovered data and draw a conclusion.
Find at least one article in the Academic Google that discusses the topic you
are interested on. Report it in APA format.
Thermal equilibrium is part of thermodynamics, a part of physics "charged with
studying phenomena where some energy change can be experienced." (Cerón-
Tec de Monterrey Energy and Transformation

Reyes, González-Reyes, Monroy-Ballesteros, 2020). It is a very simple concept to

understand because it is part of the daily life of all people and is a very basic
experimental observation, but for its simplicity it is also essential to understand more
advanced topics of thermodynamics.
Thermal equilibrium can be defined as the flow of energy that is transmitted between
two or more objects by having a difference in this, until they reach an equilibrium. In
this system of objects, the driving force for energy to move is the temperature
gradient that exists causing objects to receive or give away heat.
Thermal equilibrium is also defined by the Zero Law of Thermodynamics, which
states that:
When two systems or bodies are separated in equilibrium with a third system,
then the two systems are also in equilibrium with each other". Temperature
(Tn, where n = the state of a system) is the determinant to say that bodies are
in equilibrium, for example, if T1=T3 and T2=T3, then, T1=T2. (Cerón-Reyes,
González-Reyes, Monroy-Ballesteros, 2020)
REFERENCES:
Tamir, A., Beer-Sheba, I., & Ruiz, F. (2014). Ley Cero de la Termodinámica. Arte y
Ciencia, 4–6. Retrieved from http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/17403/1/Ley
Cero termodinamica.pdf
Atarés Huerta, L. M. (2016). Principio cero de la termodinámica. Universidad
Politécnica de Valencia. Retrieved from:
https://riunet.upv.es/bitstream/handle/10251/68341/Atar%C3%A9s%20%20Principi
o%20cero%20de%20la%20termodin%C3%A1mica.pdf?sequence=1