Science question???

Question

when you walk barefoot on a tile floor in the winter time, it feels colder than a rug does in the same room. is this because the rug and the tile are at different temperatures? or is it because of something else? (hint: think about heat transfer)

Answer 1

Both are the same temperature.

Remember:

Heat flows from hotter objects to colder objects

Tiles are better conductors of heat than rugs (heat flows into/out of them faster)

So from those two facts you can see that effectively the tiles "suck" heat out of your feet faster than the rug and so feel colder.

Answer 2

The answer is given in the hint. The difference in temperature from a tile floor and a carpet floor is from how heat is transferred and lost or gained depending on how you are looking at it.

Answer 3

Heat rises and cold air falls.  On tile nothing is there to trap and hold in any heat at the surface.  With a rug or carpeting, it works much like a blanket or clouds would work in the atmosphere.  The carpet doesn't allow the heat to escape as quickly thus more warm air remains at the surface.