EXPERIMENT BASED ON NEWTON'S LAW OF TEMPERATURE VARIATION IN EVERYDAY LIFE: PREPARING A CAKE

Abstract

This work addresses Newton's Law of Temperature Variation, analyzing the rates of heating or cooling of a body's temperature, considering that it is proportional to the temperature difference between the body and the environment. Therefore, this research aims to empirically demonstrate, through the process of baking a cake, the applicability of Ordinary Differential Equations to the temperature variation of the cake. To record this process, a thermometer connected to a USB interface was placed in the oven while the cake was heating, obtaining the temperature in relation to time. The temperature variation after the cake left the oven and the time it took to reach room temperature were also analyzed. With the data obtained, graphs of heating, cooling, and a comparison of the heating and cooling of the cake were constructed. Then, the separable equations method was used to formulate the equation that described the heating and cooling at any time. Through this work, it is possible to understand some thermodynamic concepts and relate them to differential equations, which shows that to prove the laws of physics theory, it is necessary to use mathematics as a tool to help structure physical thought.