Question: Maggie wanted to find out if surface area affected temperature change. She had 3 white cake pans. She filled each with 300 milliliters of water. She put one small black plastic disk in pan A, 2 in pan B, and 3 in pan C. Then she put all 3 pans in the sun. When Maggie measured the water temperature in each pan after 15 minutes, which pan do you think held the hottest water? Explain your answer.
Reference answer: C. Black absorbs more heat (energy) than white. Pan C has the most dark surface area so C would heat up the fastest and have the highest temperature.

Student answer: C. When there are more than one thing it get hotter faster and cooler faster too.

Student answer: C. Because there are more black in it.

Student answer: C. It got more energy to do.

Student answer: C. Because the more the black, the hotter it gets. The less it has, the cooler it gets.

Student answer: C. The one with 3 disks could of got hot because it had more disks than A or B. Since it has more disks then it was the one that got the hottest because the sun heat got in it more than the other 2.

Student answer: C. C because it holds 3 black papers in the pan with water facing the sun. Black absorbs the heat.

Student answer: C. Since more surface area absorbs heat and it was black it makes more sense for it to be more hot.

Student answer: C. I selected pan C because pan C got the most black disks so pan C absorbs more heat.

Student answer: C. There is more black to attract the sun.

Student answer: A. Because B and C will take too long to heat up because there is more water in pan B and C.

Student answer: C. Because there are 3 white cakes in pan C.

Student answer: C. Because it has more black circles.

Student answer: C. It has more black and black heats up fast.

Student answer: C. I picked C because it has more pans and they will affect the sun.

Student answer: C. Because it has more black in it that attracts the sun to make it hotter.

Student answer: C. I pick C because that is the highest of the other.

Student answer: C. I think it would be the hottest because it has more black.

Student answer: C. Because it has the most plastic disks.

Student answer: C. The cake pan C had the most black in it so it warmed up the quickest and made the water warmer.

Student answer: C. It has more black disks to absorb more heat.

Student answer: C. Pan C had the largest surface area to absorb the heat from the sun, so pan C became the warmest pan in the sun.

Student answer: C. Well it has more black, and the sun's heat is attracted by dark colors, so the heat would stay on C.

Student answer: C. The black disks absorbs the heat so the width of the disk, the more the heats expands when it touches the water place will be heated up.

Student answer: A. Water is a heat sink which slows down the absorption of the heat so the more water the less heat in the pan.

Student answer: C. It has more black parts.

Student answer: C. Because there are 3 heat sinks on C which will keep the pan warm in the night.

Student answer: C. Because the more black it is the more the black is absorbing and making the water the hottest.

Student answer: A. Because energy did not have much to heat so it focused on that one thing.

Student answer: C. C, because there is more black in C than any other cake pan. The more black the hotter it will get because black absorbs the sun's energy.

Student answer: C. They all absorbed the heat. When these disks they absorb and pass the heat between all of them and that is why.

Student answer: C. Because the pan has more disks but they also are small so they would heat up easily.

Student answer: C. Box C has the most surface area covered so all the plastic circles would absorb energy so it would be the warmest.

Student answer: C. It has more black circles.

Student answer: A. Because the pancake needed some room and it needs lots of tarp in order for it to have it cooked.

Student answer: C. The one with 3 is hotter because more black absorbs more heat.

Student answer: C. Pan C has more black disks so the heat will be absorbed because the more black there is the more heat is absorbed.