Why is ice at 273 K more effective in cooling than water at the same temperature?
Answer
Ice at 273K (or 0° C) is solid while water at 273K (or 0° C) is a liquid.
When both the substances, at 273K, are used for cooling, ice is more effective than water.
This is because ice is a solid when it absorbs heat, it is used for two things
- For changing its state from solid to water
- To increase its temperature from 0°C / 273K
Whereas on the other hand, water is a liquid, when it absorbs heat it is used
- To increase its temperature from 0°C / 273K
Thus, we can conclude that ice at 0°C / 273K consumes more heat than water at 0°C / 273K.
Hence, ice at 273 K is more effective in cooling than water at the same temperature.
So, to summarise
| Ice | Water |
| Ice absorbs heat to change it's state from solid to water | Water absorbs heat to increase it's temperature from 0 °C |
| And Ice absorbs heat to increase it's temperature from 0 °C |
Note :
Cooling effect is observed due to loss of heat to the surroundings.
The more heat is absorbed, the more cooling effect takes place
