Predict \u2192 run \u2192 compare the temperature curves. Follow the water from heating to heat exchange.
Orange: beaker \u00b7 Blue: water bath \u00b7 Grey: room temperature. Thermometer columns share a linear 0\u2013100 \u00b0C scale; 30 \u00b0C is 30% of the column. A steeper curve means a faster temperature change.Set the same target for two trials. Compare Low and High heater levels. Which curve is steeper, and which reaches the target sooner?
Record the target, heater level and time before resetting. Water begins at 25 \u00b0C.
Continue after heating, or use Start transfer at target. The heater is off. Set a bath temperature from 25\u2013100 \u00b0C and a water mass from 0.1\u20131.0 kg, then press Play.
Try a cooler bath, then a hotter bath. Predict the direction of energy transfer before showing the arrows.
Does a larger bath mass change the temperature curves? Keep the starting temperatures the same; change only bath mass. Compare both curves at the same elapsed time and explain your observations.
Thermal energy transfers from hotter to cooler water. Temperature is a measure of how hot an object is; it is not the amount of thermal energy. The beaker and bath also exchange energy with the room, set to 30 \u00b0C in this model.
A flattening curve shows a slower temperature change. Similar temperatures reduce net energy transfer between beaker and bath, but energy exchange with the room can continue.
This is an idealised model for comparing trends. Its timing and transfer coefficients are not calibrated to a particular classroom apparatus. Heating to a target below 100 \u00b0C is not boiling; the model stops at the selected target and does not simulate a latent-heat plateau or evaporation.
The beaker contains 0.10 kg of water. Setting bath mass to 0 kg hides the bath water; use a positive mass for beaker\u2013bath comparisons. Parameters lock after a trial starts. Pause to inspect; Step advances one simulation step; Reset restores the initial setup and clears the graph.
Lesson sequence: predict individually, compare in pairs, then explain with evidence from both curves. Record results before Reset.
\u25cf Orange: beaker \u00b7 \u25cf Blue: water bath \u00b7 Grey line: room temperature. The written readout identifies each temperature too.