There are three spoons in a steel tumbler. One is made of copper, the second of steel and the third, of plastic. A dried pea is stuck on each of the spoons, at the same height, with blobs of butter. Suppose you pour boiling water into the tumbler, which of the peas would fall first? What you need: Three dried peas, butter, a steel tumbler, boiling water, and a copper, a steel and a plastic spoon.
What you do:
1. Stick the dried peas onto the spoons with blobs of butter same height.
2. Now, pour some boiling water into the tumbler.
3. Observe which pea falls first. What happens?
The pea on the copper spoon will fall first
Why?
Both copper and steel are good conductors of heat, while plastic is a bad conductor of heat. Heat from the water will travel up the spoons, melt the butter and release the peas.
As copper is a better conductor of heat than steel, the pea on the copper spoon will fall first.
Picture Credit : Google
