Cooling Rates

Most recent answer: 03/29/2015

Q:
Hot waters cool from 60 to 50 degree Celsius in the first 10 minutes and to 42 degree Celsius in the next 10 minutes. What is the surrounding temperature?
- Priyal agrawal (age 18)
Guna,MP,INDIA
A:

Whoever assigned that problem wants you to assume that the water temperature approaches the surrounding temperature exponentially in time. Then it's straightforward to solve. In real life that assumption is only approximately right, at best.

Mike W.


(published on 03/29/2015)