Hot or Cold?

Reliability of Touch

We know from experience that some bodies are hotter than others. Ice is cold, while boiling water is hot. We often use our sense of touch to judge this. However, is our sense of touch always reliable?

Activity: The Three Containers

To test this, imagine an experiment with three containers:

• Container A: Warm water
• Container B: Tap water (room temperature)
• Container C: Ice-cold water

Procedure:

1. Dip your right hand in Container A (Warm).
2. Dip your left hand in Container C (Cold).
3. Keep them there for 1–2 minutes.
4. Now, dip both hands simultaneously into Container B.

Observation:

• Your right hand (coming from warm water) will feel the tap water is cool.
• Your left hand (coming from cold water) will feel the same tap water is warm.