Join FunTrivia for Free: Hourly trivia games, quizzes, community, and more!
Fun Trivia
Ask FunTrivia: Questions and Answers
Answers to 100,000 Fascinating Questions
Welcome to FunTrivia's Question & Answer forum!

Search All Questions


Please cite any factual claims with citation links or references from authoritative sources. Editors continuously recheck submissions and claims.

Archived Questions

Goto Qn #


Which one would cool down faster: a 100ml of hot water, a 300ml of hot water or a 500ml of hot water? Why?

Question #76494. Asked by kaung30.
Last updated Jun 11 2021.

What-A-Mess
Answer has 11 votes
Currently Best Answer
What-A-Mess

Answer has 11 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
The parameters, according to an e mail sent to me, are, same surface area, same type of containers and same starting temp. Which will become cool FIRST.

Since the surface area is the same, the smallest volume will become cool the fastest. Why? Less adjacent Molecular heat exchange. Heat is radiated or physically transfered from Molecule to Molecule like a Quarterback handing off a Football. If there is less "players" (Molecules) on the field the less "hand-offs" necessary and therefore less time involved. Conversely, if one started out with equal volumes of Water, the hotter one WOULD cool at a faster RATE.
Newton's Law of Cooling states that the RATE of change of the temperature of an object is proportional to the difference between its own temperature and the ambient temperature (i.e. the temperature of its surroundings).
link https://www.slader.com/discussion/question/newtons-law-of-cooling
ugrad.math.ubc.ca/coursedoc/math100/notes/diffeqs/cool.html no longer exists


Response last updated by gtho4 on Jun 11 2021.
Mar 01 2007, 9:12 AM
free email trivia FREE! Get a new mixed Fun Trivia quiz each day in your email. It's a fun way to start your day!


arrow Your Email Address:

Sign in or Create Free User ID to participate in the discussion