Question

The reason for providing copper bottoms in steel pans is:
A. Aesthet, carly looks good
B. That copper is better conductor than steel
C. That copper is not a good conductor than steel
D. None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: We know that copper is a very good conductor of heat and electricity. Copper helps in directing the heat evenly throughout the utensil and heats the steel pans faster. Therefore the cooking process will take less time with these copper-coated steel pans.

Complete step by step answer:
Some materials conduct heat better than others since the resistivity of different materials is different. When you compare the thermal conductivities of steel and copper, copper has a much greater thermal conductivity than steel.
Stainless steel is used in cookware as it is easily formed into various shapes and is corrosion-resistant. Steel also is a good conductor of heat, however, not as good as copper. So adding copper to the bottom of the pan increases the efficiency of heat transfer from the stove-top to the pan. In effect, it means that a pan with a copper bottom should heat up more quickly than a pan made up of steel (entirely).
Hence, the reason for providing copper bottoms in steel pans is that copper is not a better conductor than steel.

So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note:
It used to be more common to see pans made entirely from copper, however, copper is relatively expensive. Generally, it is unsafe to ingest more than a tiny amount of copper and so stainless steel pans have become more popular.