In our test there was a question that went like so:

Question 4 You have a glass of iced water on an unshaded picnic table and went for a walk for 30 minutes. When you return you noticed the glass has water on the outside of it.

a. In terms of heat transfer explain what has happened to the glass of water.

The majority of the class understood this question and answered it correctly.

b. Would there have been more or less water on the outside of the glass if the picnic table was in the shade? Explain.

This question caused a lot of controversy with the majority of the students (including myself) believing that the shade would have caused more water on the outside. Whereas the teacher and a few students thought that the sun would have caused more water on the outside.

The reasoning that the teacher provided was not very convincing and so we have come to this forum to ask what is the correct answer to part b and most of all WHY?

We are 16 -17 years of age if you need to know the level for the explanation.

In our test there was a question that went like so:

Question 4 You have a glass of iced water on an unshaded picnic table and went for a walk for 30 minutes. When you return you noticed the glass has water on the outside of it.

a. In terms of heat transfer explain what has happened to the glass of water.

The majority of the class understood this question and answered it correctly.

b. Would there have been more or less water on the outside of the glass if the picnic table was in the shade? Explain.

This question caused a lot of controversy with the majority of the students (including myself) believing that the shade would have caused more water on the outside. Whereas the teacher and a few students thought that the sun would have caused more water on the outside.

The reasoning that the teacher provided was not very convincing and so we have come to this forum to ask what is the correct answer to part b and most of all WHY?

We are 16 -17 years of age if you need to know the level for the explanation.