Why does your hand feel cold when you touch an ice cube?

• A. Heat flows from your hand to the ice cube, causing your hand to lose energy.
• B. The ice cube releases cold energy into your hand.
• C. Your hand absorbs heat from the ice cube.
• D. The temperature of your hand increases when touching the ice cube.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the concept of heat transfer: Heat always flows from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature until thermal equilibrium is reached.
2. Recognize that your hand is warmer than the ice cube, so heat will flow from your hand to the ice cube, not the other way around.
3. When you touch the ice cube, heat energy leaves your hand and moves into the ice cube, causing your hand to lose thermal energy.
4. The loss of heat from your hand results in a decrease in the temperature of the skin on your hand, which makes it feel cold.
5. Note that the ice cube does not release 'cold energy'; instead, it absorbs heat, causing it to melt if enough heat is transferred.