- #1
spockjones20
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Homework Statement
This question is from a thermodynamics test from a previous science olympiad competition that I am using to study from for a future test.
"Consider two neighboring rectangular houses built from the same materials. One of the houses has twice the length, width, and height of the other. Under identical climatic conditions, what would be true about the rate that heat would have to be supplied to maintain the same inside temperature on a cold day? Compared to the small house, the larger house would need heat supplied at:
A.) twice the rate
B.) 4 times the rate
C.) 16 times the rate
D.) 8 times the rate
Homework Equations
Volume of small box = l*w*h
Volume of large box = 2l*2w*2h = 8(l*w*h)
I honestly do not know if any other equations need apply here, being new to thermo I thought that it would just be a ratio of the volumes
The Attempt at a Solution
I thought that the answer should be D, 8 times the rate because the volume of the larger box is 8 times that of the smaller box. However, the test has the answer of B, four times the rate. I am not sure if this is a mistake in the key or if there is another equation that I should be using. Help is very much appreciated.