Academic Integrity: tutoring, explanations, and feedback — we don’t complete graded work or submit on a student’s behalf.

Newton\'s law of cooling states that the temperature of an object changes at a r

ID: 1887469 • Letter: N

Question

Newton's law of cooling states that the temperature of an object changes at a rate proportional to the difference between its temperature and that of its surroundings. Suppose that the temperature of a cup of coffee obeys Newton's law of cooling. If the coffee has a temperature of 195 degree Fahrenheit when freshly poured, and 1.5 minutes later has cooled to 178 degree s in a room at 62 degree s, determine when the coffee reaches a temperature of 128 degree s. The coffee will reach a temperature of 128 degree s in minutes.

Explanation / Answer

from Newton's law of cooling

dT/dt = - k(T-62)

=> dT/(T-62) = -kdt

on integrating

T = 62 + ce-kt

given that at t= 0, T = 195 => c = 133

and at t= 1.5 , T = 178 => k = 0.0912

so for T = 128 the time will be

t = 7.638 min

when putting this in the answer box approximate this according to the given rules.