I'm just curious bout the Tempeture.?

Question

Okay, i got no clue how or what you call it, but whatev. here it goes. You know when you fill a tub full of hot water, it cools down, and when u leave ice on the counter it melts? Why does that happen?
Thnxx.

Answer 1

The tub of hot water will exchange its internal energy (heat) with its surroundings until the temperatures are equalized. A system (all things in a room) wants to be in thermal equilibrium. The hot water warms the air around the tub by transfer of heat from hot to cold.
The water in the tub also evaporates to some degree which cools the water. That's why pot's are covered by lids during cooking to prevent fast evaporation of hot liquids. Also heated swimming pools are covered during cooler temperatures to prevent rapid heat loss due to evaporation.

Ice is a solid state for water which exists only below 32 F. Here the air and the surface where the ice sits on, transfer heat to the ice, which first melts (usually faster thru contact with the solid surface than with air). Then the water heats up to surrounding temperature until thermal equilibrium is reached.

Transfer of heat energy is spontaneous from warm/hot to cold until same temperature is reached. The spontaneous transfer of heat is always from hot to cold.

Answer 2

Everything in nature want to equalize. So the tub water is hotter than the room temp. The tub water cools to the temp of the room. Same thing for the ice. It wants to be the room temp too, so it takes on heat (melts) until the melted water is also the same as the room temp.

Answer 3

There is no "Cold", only heat or lack of heat. The object of study (ice or bath tub full of hot water) will remain the same as long as the environment allows it. Water will stay hot as long as everything it is in contact with is the same temperature, this includes the air at the surface. This is the same for ice.