Tangentially to the motion of the mass

Orthogonal to the motion of the mass

Vertically upwards from the mass

Horizontal from the mass

From the pivot point to the mass

From the mass to the pivot point

Vertically downward from the mass

to add lots more insulation to prevent conduction

to do something awesome with lasers! (Sounds cool! but please don't pick this answer!)

to make sure the water is perfectly still to avoid convection

to actually fit a general model that would fit radiative, evaporative and conductive losses simultaneously so that we could truly assess how the water cooled

The heat loss rate due to different methods are interconnected.

it is not possible to only hinder one particular method of heat transfer, so we can never hope to really compare differences due to just one method

the thermometer acts a sink of energy and cools the water as it absorbs heat from it to make the measurement of temperature

The temperatures of the control and experiment cups are not the same as time goes on and so the rates of each means of transfer would actually be different

Computing for the given temperatures the rates of energy loss due to all methods of heat transfer and thus isolating the energy due to the particular method of interest.

computing an energy loss for the control cup, and subtracting this from the energy loss in the experimental cup.

computing the average energy loss for the control and experiment together.

computing an energy loss for the control cup, and adding this to the energy loss in the experimental cup.

Accelerating or decelerating the container and water as you shake the container back and forth, i.e., into changing macroscopic kinetic energy.

ionising the water

Making the water evaporate and hence undergo a phase change rather than a temperature change

altering the density of the water rather than the temperature