The temperature range for the surface of planet earth is closest to: 0 K - 100 K

Question

The temperature range for the surface of planet earth is closest to: 0 K - 100 K 0 C - 100 C 0 F - 100 F Under normal conditions the cooking time for an 18 lb defrosted turkey in a 350 F oven would be 6 hours. Imagine someone says "if I could double the temperature of my oven to 700 F, the turkey would cook in half the time, 3 hours". A normal oven does not go up to 700 F, but assuming it could, why would it not be a good idea to cook a turkey at that temperature? Why do people normally put food in a refrigerator?

Explanation / Answer

1) The average Earth surface temperature is 57.2° F. hence range should be in between 0 F to 100 F.

2) There are two things that cause this not to work.

The first is that chemical reactions are really non-linear with temperature. Cooking a turkey is just a chemical reaction. Doubling the temperature will cause the reaction to go four or more times as fast, not just double. So the outside will be way overcooked.

The second is heat transmission...you need to get heat all the way to the center. But the outside of the turkey can't get above 212F until all the water is gone, so cranking the oven temperature doesn't help the center get hot faster until after you've already burned the crust.

3) Food goes bad because bacteria, mould and microbes attack it. This happens more quickly in warm temperature, where as cold interrupts and even stops this process. So food will keep fresh for longer in a fridge.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse T
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.