Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 6: Problem 1

Objects placed together eventually reach the same temperature. When you go into a room and touch a piece of metal in that room, it feels colder than a piece of plastic. Explain.

Short Answer

Expert verified
When you touch a metal object, it feels colder than a plastic object because of the metal's high thermal conductivity, which allows it to more rapidly transfer energy from your hand, making it feel colder. Meanwhile, the plastic loses heat more slowly due to its lower thermal conductivity, giving the sensation of being warmer. Ultimately, both objects reach the same temperature through heat transfer, but the difference in how quickly they transfer heat creates the contrasting sensations of colder metal and warmer plastic.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Heat Transfer

Heat transfer is the process of energy exchange between two systems due to a temperature difference. In this case, when your hand touches an object like a piece of metal or plastic, heat energy is transferred between your hand and the object until their temperatures become equal.
02

Thermal Conductivity

Thermal conductivity is a measure of how well a material can transfer heat. Metals typically have high thermal conductivity, meaning that they can transfer heat more quickly than materials with lower thermal conductivity, such as plastics. In other words, better conductors transfer heat more quickly, whereas insulators take a longer time for heat transfer.
03

Objects Reaching the Same Temperature

When objects are placed together, they will eventually reach the same temperature through the process of heat transfer. This is a result of energy being exchanged between the objects until their temperature difference is minimized.
04

The Main Factor

When you touch a metal object, it feels colder than a plastic object because of the metal's high thermal conductivity. The metal's high thermal conductivity permits it to more rapidly transfer energy from your hand to the object. The metal can lose heat more quickly, making it feel colder, while the plastic loses heat more slowly due to its lower thermal conductivity, giving the sensation of being warmer.
05

Conclusion

The reason a piece of metal feels colder to touch than a piece of plastic in a room, even though they are at the same temperature, is because of the metal's high thermal conductivity. Higher thermal conductivity causes the metal to absorb heat more quickly from your hand, making it feel colder compared to the plastic with a lower thermal conductivity, which takes longer to absorb heat from your hand.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen as an alternative fuel.

A biology experiment requires the preparation of a water bath at $37.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C}$ (body temperature). The temperature of the cold tap water is \(22.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C},\) and the temperature of the hot tap water is \(55.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C} .\) If a student starts with 90.0 \(\mathrm{g}\) cold water, what mass of hot water must be added to reach $37.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C} ?$

For each of the following situations a-c, use choices i-iii to complete the statement: "The final temperature of the water should be.." i. between \(50^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) and \(90^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) . ii. \(50^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) . iii. between \(10^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) and \(50^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) . a. 100.0 -g sample of water at \(90^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) is added to a 100.0 -g sample of water at \(10^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) . b. A 100.0 -g sample of water at \(90^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) is added to a $500.0 . \mathrm{g}\( sample of water at \)10^{\circ} \mathrm{C} .$ c. You have a Styrofoam cup with 50.0 \(\mathrm{g}\) of water at $10^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\( . You add a 50.0 -g iron ball at \)90^{\circ} \mathrm{C}$ to the water.

The heat capacity of a bomb calorimeter was determined by burning 6.79 g methane (energy of combustion \(=-802 \mathrm{kJ} /\) $\mathrm{mol} \mathrm{CH}_{4}\( in the bomb. The temperature changed by \)10.8^{\circ} \mathrm{C} .$ a. What is the heat capacity of the bomb? b. A 12.6 -g sample of acetylene, \(\mathrm{C}_{2} \mathrm{H}_{2},\) produced a temperature increase of \(16.9^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) in the same calorimeter. What is the energy of combustion of acetylene (in $\mathrm{kJ} / \mathrm{mol} )$ ?

Which has the greater kinetic energy, an object with a mass of 2.0 \(\mathrm{kg}\) and a velocity of 1.0 \(\mathrm{m} / \mathrm{s}\) or an object with a mass of 1.0 \(\mathrm{kg}\) and a velocity of 2.0 $\mathrm{m} / \mathrm{s}$ ?
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

Ionic and Molecular Compounds

Read Explanation

Nuclear Chemistry

Read Explanation

Chemical Analysis

Read Explanation

Organic Chemistry

Read Explanation

Making Measurements

Read Explanation

Kinetics

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free