A frozen cold pack at \(-12\,^\circ\text{C}\) is placed in a room at \(22\,^\circ\text{C}\). Each minute, the temperature difference between the cold pack and the room decreases by \(15\%\).
a) Make a table of the cold pack's temperature for \(n\in\{0,1,2,3\}\) minutes. Round each temperature to the nearest hundredth of a degree.
b) After how many full minutes is the temperature first greater than \(15\,^\circ\text{C}\)?
c) In practice, people may say that the cold pack eventually reaches room temperature. Explain the limitations of the mathematical model in this situation.
Hints
- Carefully compute the initial temperature difference.
- Subtract the current difference from the room temperature.
- Test consecutive whole-minute values near the threshold.
- Distinguish mathematical equality from practical measurement.
Solution
1. The initial temperature difference is \(22-(-12)=34\,^\circ\text{C}\). The difference is multiplied by \(0.85\) each minute, so \(T_n=22-34(0.85)^n\).
2. \(T_0=-12.00\,^\circ\text{C}\), \(T_1=-6.90\,^\circ\text{C}\), \(T_2=-2.565\,^\circ\text{C}\approx-2.57\,^\circ\text{C}\), and \(T_3=1.11975\,^\circ\text{C}\approx1.12\,^\circ\text{C}\).
3. \(T_9\approx14.13\,^\circ\text{C}\), while \(T_{10}\approx15.31\,^\circ\text{C}\). Therefore, the temperature first exceeds \(15\,^\circ\text{C}\) after \(10\) full minutes.
4. The model assumes a constant room temperature and a constant relative decrease in the temperature difference. Real conditions vary, and measurement precision makes a very small difference practically indistinguishable from zero even though the model never reaches exactly \(22\,^\circ\text{C}\) at a finite time.
Answer
a)
<table>
<tr>
<th>Time (min)</th>
<th>Temperature (°C)</th>
</tr>
<tr><td>\(0\)</td><td>\(-12.00\)</td></tr>
<tr><td>\(1\)</td><td>\(-6.90\)</td></tr>
<tr><td>\(2\)</td><td>\(-2.57\)</td></tr>
<tr><td>\(3\)</td><td>\(1.12\)</td></tr>
</table>
b) \(10\) minutes
c) The model idealizes the conditions and approaches room temperature without reaching it exactly at a finite time.