Why Does Cold Water Increase Survival Rates in Drowning Incidents?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the phenomenon of increased survival rates in drowning incidents involving cold water compared to warmer water. Participants explore potential biological and chemical reasons for this difference, including metabolic rates and oxygen dynamics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that higher temperatures increase reaction rates due to more energetic particle collisions, questioning how this relates to survival rates in drowning.
  • Another participant prompts consideration of the rate at which oxygen is consumed by body tissues.
  • A different viewpoint proposes that cold water allows for greater oxygen solubility, as well as the idea that warmer water's molecular activity may lead to oxygen escaping from solution more readily.
  • One participant counters that the discussion should focus on oxygen availability in the body rather than the amount dissolved in water.
  • A question is raised regarding the effect of temperature on metabolic processes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the factors influencing survival rates in cold versus warm water, with no consensus reached on the primary reasons behind the observed phenomenon.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on assumptions about metabolic rates and oxygen dynamics, which remain unresolved in the discussion.

K.E
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People who have been submerged in very cold water, and presumed drowned, have sometimes been revived. By contrast, people who have been submerged for a similar period of time in warmer water have not survived. Suggest reasons for this difference.

I know this has to do with the fact that higher temperatures increase the rates of reaction because more particles collide with enough energy to react. But I am not sure of how to relate that to this question.

Thanks!
 
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Think how fast oxygen is used by the tissues.
 
Is it because oxygen dissolves more easily in cold water than in warm water? Also because when the water is warmer, its molecules move and vibrate faster, making it easier for oxygen molecules to escape from solutions?
 
No, it is not about amount of oxygen dissolved in water. It is about oxygen in the body.
 
Effect on Metabolism by temperature?
 

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