I am wondering what is the better answer for part (b).
1)She is trying to find out which material is a better conductor of heat.
or 2)She is trying to find out which material is a better non-conductor(insulator) of heat.

Hi there,

Sorry this took me a little while to locate your image. The link can be found here
farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3466762267_f06ff03fa1_o.jpg for anybody reading this question.

Aluminum is a better conductor of heat than plastic, therefore my answer for Part A is:
- Cup C, A, B, D

For Part B: What is Jenny trying to find out?
You have provided two alternatives:
- Jenny is trying to find out which rod conducts heat better; and
- Which rod is a better insulator of heat.

The two answers require the same thought process and thus I would assume either answer is acceptable since the one answer implies the other. For example, if you said Jenny is trying to find out which material is a better conductor of heat then I automatically know which is a better insulator.

That said, to remove any doubt and ensure I received full marks, I would just answer like this....
Jenny is trying to find out which of the materials, aluminum or plastic, is a better conductor of heat and which is a better insulator of heat. This answer covers both of your questions.

Hi,Chris
Thank you for your response.I apologise for the inconvenience.
The material used in set up A is aluminium. You may wish to increase the size of the image by magnifying the screen size to 150% or 200%.

Hi thanks for confirming. Aluminum is one of the better metals for conducting heat. I will update my original thread to change the unknown material to aluminum.

c