a phsysics question see below?

Question

(I can't even spell physics..) OK let's say you have a cup of hot water and a cup of cold water. you poor them both at the same time into a room temp container. does the cold water try to cool the hot water or the hot water try to warm up the cold water??? Also why when you put ice cubes in room temp water the ice makes the drink cool...why doesn't the drink make the ice warm? maybe it is because the difference....if we were to put ice into boiling water..the hot drink would warm the ice....

Answer 1

The change in temperature isn't one item affecting the other. Energy, including heat, flows from areas of higher density to areas of lower density. So, if you pour hot and cold water together the heat energy which each cup of water contained is now split between the two, resulting in an intermidiate temperature for all of the water. If you put ice cubes in a cup, some of the heat flows from the warmer liquid, into the ice cubes. So the ice cubes are becoming warmer and the drink is becoming cooler. This process contiues until the heat/energy in the ice cube and in the drink is equal. This is the second law of thermodynamics. Check it out in the wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_law_of_thermodynamics

Answer 2

I actually remember this from one of the chemistry courses I took, (if I remember right). This will be a very simplified version. Water absorbs a lot of energy as it heats up. When you put hot and cold temperature water together, those molecules work towards a "thermal equilibrium" or similar temperature. So the hot water gives up energy when it's molecules come in contact with the cool water. The cool waters molecules absorb energy when they come in contact with the hot water. This transfer of heat (or energy) continues until they are all the same. This is also what happens when you put ice in the drink. The room temperature water is transferring it's heat to the ice, until there is a similar temperature, so the ice will have melted at least a little. It just depends on how warm the water was it was put in. Hope that makes sense.

Answer 3

The pairs of things you describe are not mutually exclusive!

1) The cold water cools the hot water, *AND* the hot water warms the cold water. The final temperature of the mixture will be somewhere between the two starting temperatures.

2) Same situation with the ice. The cold ice cools the drink, *AND* the warm drink transfers heat to the ice. This heat will first cause the ice to warm up to the freezing point. After that, the heat will cause the ice to melt.

It's best to think about these things in terms of "thermal energy", or "heat". When two objects of different temperatures are in contact, heat is transfered from the hot object to the cold. This causes the hot object to cool, and the cool object to heat up.

Answer 4

Potential Energy. They are both working to change the other so you get warm water. The Tempurature after mixing is relevant to how cold and how hot the water was prior to mixing.

The frozen ice cubes are at a "higher" potential energy than the warm drink. They have more enegy to expel to change the temperature of the drink.

The ice in the boiling water is much like the hot and cold water, They are merging towards a constant temperature for both.

As much as they try to merge they also try to retain the energy. certain factors make them lose energy faster.
Try this trick...

Take 2 equally sized ice cubes (freeze 2 equal cups of ice) Boil som water in a pan and put one cube in the boiling water and one on a dish in the sink under running cold water. Which do you think will melt first?

The cold water will melt the ice faster! The reason is the one in the hot water will attempt to hold its energy and the cold goes to the center while the one under the cold water easily releases it's energy to the almost as cold water which washes it away.

Answer 5

Thermodynamically, higher temperatures must flow to areas of lower temperatures. It is impossible for it flow in the other direction. So hot water will warm the cold water, room temperature water melts the ice as does the boiling water.

When we cool objects (such as putting ice in water) we are actually removing heat from the object (the water). The ice acts as a heat dump and energy moves from the water to the ice making it cooler.

Answer 6

Its very good question.

My thinking is energy flows from high to low. So the heat will flow from warmer to cooler. If you put hot and cold water together, cold will take heat from hot to come to room temperature.

If you put ice into room temp water, ice will take heat from water and in the process of melting(breaking of bonds etc) it will take some more energy making water cooler. But this is true for some moments. Eventually that too will come to room temp.

All I want to say is when you put ice in water, not only ice takes heat from water but something else also happens which takes more energy from water.

Thanks

Answer 7

It's because there's an excange of heat among the bodies. If you put hot and cold water together, some of the heat of the cold water is transfered to the cold water until the system is in equilibrium, i.e. the water is at the same temperature. So the cold bodies receive heat and the hot bodies send out heat.

Answer 8

Heat always moves from a higher to a lower energy so technically the Hot item gives up its heat to the colder item (causing it to heat up) if you poor the two Cups of water into one then the Hot water gives up its energy to the cold water. This eventually causes a third state of Equilibrium.
As for the Ice the Heat from the water gives up its energy to the ice (causing it to gain energy and melt) as the water gives up its energy it of course cools down.

Answer 9

the particles in the hot water move quickly while that of a cold water moves slowly so the hot water tries to warm the cold and they both come to a balanced particle movement same goes for the other quiz

Answer 10

Whether a glass half full or half empty?.
The hot folks can make even cold ones a little warm ):