Question

Consider two cold canned drinks, one wrapped in a blanket and the other placed on a table in the same room. Which drink will warm up faster?

Short answer

Explain your answer based on the concept of heat transfer. Answer: The cold canned drink placed on the table in the room will warm up faster. This is because it is exposed to both conduction (heat transfer from the table) and convection (heat transfer from the surrounding air), allowing for a faster rate of heat transfer compared to the drink wrapped in the insulating blanket. The blanket slows down the heat transfer process, causing the wrapped drink to warm up more slowly.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding Heat Transfer

To begin, we need to understand the concept of heat transfer. There are three main modes of heat transfer, namely conduction, convection, and radiation. In this problem, we'll be focusing on conduction and convection. Conduction is the transfer of heat between two materials in direct contact with each other, while convection involves the transfer of heat through a fluid medium, such as air or water.

Analyzing the Drink Wrapped in a Blanket

When the cold canned drink is wrapped in a blanket, the blanket acts as an insulator that slows down the heat transfer process. Heat from the surrounding air is transferred to the blanket through convection, while the blanket transfers heat to the cold drink via conduction. As the blanket acts as a barrier between the air and the drink, the rate of heat gain by the drink will be slower compared to the drink placed on the table. The blanket reduces the transfer of heat from the surroundings to the drink.

Analyzing the Drink on the Table

For the drink placed on the table, both conduction and convection are in effect. The table acts as a heat conductor, transferring heat from its body to the drink through conduction. At the same time, the air around the drink also transfers heat to it via convection. Since the drink is in direct contact with the table and the air, the rate of heat transfer is faster for this drink compared to the one wrapped in the blanket.

Comparing the Rate of Heat Transfer

Upon examination of both scenarios, we can conclude that the drink placed directly on the table in the room will warm up faster. This is because it has direct contact with both the table (via conduction) and the surrounding air (via convection), which results in a faster rate of heat transfer compared to the drink wrapped in the insulating blanket.