Name: An Activity to Demonstrate Convection
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 2 min 29 s
Description: Convection currents can have some fun effects. Here, we conduct an experiment demonstrating one of the effects of a convection current. Watch and learn.

Question

Describe a simple experiment which can demonstrate that the terms 'hot' and 'cold' as we feel them are only relative terms.

Accepted Answer

An experiment to demonstrate that the terms 'hot' and 'cold' as we feel them are only relative terms:

Pour hot water, water at room temperature and the ice-cold water into three separate glasses.

Keep the three glasses side by side on a table with the glass containing water at room temperature in the middle.

Dip the index finger of one hand in the ice-cold water and that of the other hand in the hot water. Hold the fingers in the water for a minute.

Then dip both the index fingers into the water at room temperature.

Observation: You will find that to one finger, the water feels hot and to the other it feels cold.
Conclusion: This is because the finger that was in ice-cold water has become cold, and when it was placed in the water at room temperature, it felt that the water was warm, relative to the earlier experience of ice-cold water.
Similarly, the finger that was first in hot water will feel the water at room temperature to be relatively cold.
Note: A laboratory thermometer is used to measure the temperature of boiling water.

Describe a simple experiment which can demonstrate that the terms 'hot' and 'cold' as we feel them are only relative terms.

Important Questions on Temperature and Heat

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