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Textbook Solutions for Sears and Zemansky's University Physics with Modern Physics

Chapter 20 Problem 15DQ

Question

Problem 15DQ

Does a refrigerator full of food consume more power if the room temperature is 20o C than if it is 15o C? Or is the power consumption the same? Explain your reasoning.

Solution

Solution 15DQ

Step 1:

All heat transfer depends on the greater the difference in temperature between two systems the faster heat will flow.when you add heat energy to a full refrigerator,the system has greater heat capacity so the temperature changes more slowly and is greater than it would be in an empty refrigerator.

If the refrigerator could keep the temperature absolutely constant at all times the difference would not matter.because a real system cools and then stops cooling in discrete steps,a loaded refrigerator acquires heat from the environment slightly faster because it stays colder for longer.

The difference is so small though that it could not be measured.but if a refrigerator only cycles on at a specific temperature there will be no difference.

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Title Sears and Zemansky's University Physics with Modern Physics 13 
Author Hugh D. Young; Roger A. Freedman; A. Lewis Ford
ISBN 9780321696861

Solved: Does a refrigerator full of food consume more

Chapter 20 textbook questions

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