5.imagine you are at the beach on a very hot day. you walk toward the water. the sand is eextremly hot. when you reach the water, you find that the water is much cooler than sand.
b)predict what the air temprature would be relative to the sand and water temp..
explain your thinking using the term heat capacity.
Water reaching an ocean beach is mostly at or near the temperature the deeper water offshore, which has a high heat capacity and does not cool off much overnight, nor get as hot as the land during summer days. In other words, in summer the ocean is colder than land in the daytime.
The sand at the beach is effectively heated by sunlight passing through the water. (Water near the surface is not as efficiently heated because of ts transparency). Because of the low thermal conductivity of sand, the energy absorbed from sunlight only has to heat a thin layer near the surface. The sand surface at a shallow shoreline is closer to the hot air temperature, although the waves help cool it down somewhat.
To predict the air temperature relative to the sand and water temperature, we need to consider the concept of heat capacity. Heat capacity refers to the amount of heat energy required to change the temperature of a substance.
In this scenario, the sand and the water are both exposed to the same external heat source, which is the hot sun. However, their heat capacities differ. Sand has a low heat capacity, meaning it heats up quickly and reaches a high temperature under the same amount of heat energy. On the other hand, water has a high heat capacity, so it requires more heat energy to increase its temperature.
When you walk toward the water from the hot sand, you find that the water is much cooler. This is because water takes longer to heat up compared to the sand. As a result, the water continues to absorb heat from the sun while maintaining a relatively lower temperature compared to the sand.
Considering this, we can predict that the air temperature would be closer to the temperature of the water rather than the sand. The water, with its high heat capacity, can absorb more heat from the sun, whereas the sand quickly heats up and radiates heat into the air. Therefore, the air temperature should be relatively cooler compared to the sand temperature, but warmer compared to the water temperature.