If I had two cups of hot water and put one in the fridge and left one

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After placing one cup of hot water in the fridge and leaving another at room temperature, the cup in the fridge will generally be cooler after 10 minutes due to the greater temperature difference with its surroundings. The cooling rate is influenced by environmental factors, including the temperature of the room and the fridge. Some participants questioned the need for physics to answer the question, suggesting common sense might suffice. The discussion also touched on the Mpemba effect, which explores why hot water can freeze faster than cold water under specific conditions. Ultimately, the cooling rates depend on multiple variables beyond just initial temperatures.
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If I had two cups of hot water and put one in the fridge and left one on the table which one after 10 minutes would be cooler ?
I have no idea and have been asked this question, thanks in advance for the answer.
 
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All else being equal the rate of cooling depend son the temperature difference between the water and it's surroundings - so unless it's very cold in your kitchen, the fridge would be better.
 


Scully said:
If I had two cups of hot water and put one in the fridge and left one on the table which one after 10 minutes would be cooler ?
I have no idea and have been asked this question, thanks in advance for the answer.

Do you really need physics to answer this question? I mean, really? I don't want to be harsh, but common sense should tell you the answer.
 


Isn't physics simply asking 'why' to commonsense questions?

edit: I did think they would follow up with a more 'but why' type question !
 


Scully said:
If I had two cups of hot water and put one in the fridge and left one on the table which one after 10 minutes would be cooler ?
I have no idea and have been asked this question, thanks in advance for the answer.

Yeah I find very strange that you have no idea about the answer. Also, the experiment is quite easy to do (you only 2 glasses of water + a fridge).
Then putting the same finger in each glass should tell you the answer.
 


The real question is why is it that hot water will make ice-cubes faster than cold water...
 


James Leighe said:
The real question is why is it that hot water will make ice-cubes faster than cold water...
Oh... then it's a totally different question!
It has been discussed in this forum and I'm pretty sure more than once.
Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect.
 


James Leighe said:
The real question is why is it that hot water will make ice-cubes faster than cold water...

It won't.

Except in very carefully-controlled circumstances.
 


mgb_phys said:
All else being equal the rate of cooling depend son the temperature difference between the water and it's surroundings - so unless it's very cold in your kitchen, the fridge would be better.

ok if the room was 20°C warmer what would the answer be ?
 
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Scully said:
ok if the room was 20°C warmer what would the answer be ?

You definitely didn't read the link I provided... There are many more parameters than the room temperature to take into account.
 

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