A roasted turkey is taken from an oven when its temperature has reached 185°F and is placed on a table in a room where the temperature is 75°F.

(a) If the temperature of the turkey is 150°F after half an hour, what is its temperature after 45 min? (Round your answer to the nearest whole number.) I got 141 why am I getting it wrong?

Are you using a linear temperature function, or Newton's rule for cooling?

If linear, then since the turkey cooled 35° in 1/2 hr, then it will cool another 17.5° in the next 15 minutes. 150-17.5 = 132.5°

It would have helped had you shown your calculations. I have no idea how you got 141°

If you are supposed to use Newton's law, then it's a whole nother ball game.

To solve this problem, we can use the concept of heat transfer. The rate of heat transfer from one object to another is proportional to the temperature difference between the two objects.

In this case, let's consider the oven as one object and the room as another object. When the turkey is taken out from the oven, it starts to lose heat and its temperature decreases.

We can use the formula for heat transfer: Q = mcΔT, where Q is the heat transferred, m is the mass of the turkey, c is the specific heat capacity of the turkey, and ΔT is the change in temperature.

Since we are interested in finding the final temperature after 45 minutes, we need to find the change in temperature from 150°F (after 30 minutes) to the final temperature.

Let's assume that the turkey has already reached thermal equilibrium with the room temperature. This means that the rate of heat transfer from the turkey to the room is equal to the rate of heat loss from the turkey.

We can set up the following equation:
Q_lost = Q_gained

Using the formula Q = mcΔT, we have:
(mass of turkey)(specific heat capacity of turkey)(change in temperature of turkey) = (mass of turkey)(specific heat capacity of turkey)(change in temperature of room)

Since the mass and specific heat capacity of the turkey are constant, we can cancel them out:
(change in temperature of turkey) = (change in temperature of room)

Therefore, the change in temperature of the turkey after 45 minutes is equal to the change in temperature of the room, which is 75°F.

Now, let's calculate the final temperature of the turkey after 45 minutes:
Final temperature = initial temperature - change in temperature
Final temperature = 150°F - 75°F
Final temperature = 75°F

So, the correct answer is that the turkey's temperature after 45 minutes is 75°F, not 141°F.