Brain Teasers
Ice it Up
Bob, an orange grower new to the industry, heard on the news that there was a forecast of freezing temperature for the low next morning. He hadn't picked his oranges yet because it was too early in the season and he was worried that he would lose everything. It seemed that he was doomed. John, a worker of his who was still in high school, came up with a plan. He told Bob that he learned of a way to protect his crops from freezing. All he needed was access to the watering hose. What did John do?
Hint
What is released when water freezes?Answer
John sprayed the oranges with water and kept doing it throughout the night. The first thing that would freeze would be the water on the orange's surface. When this happens, it releases latent heat that will keep the orange from freezing. Also the layer of ice would insulate the orange from the atmosphere. The ice would melt as soon as the sun rises and brings the temperatures above freezing. Thus the oranges were saved.Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
Interesting teaser! It makes sense, and so my question is: Do orange growers really do this? Just curious. Oh, and fun teaser!
As far as I know this is a technique used to protect crops. In high school, my physical science book had an article in each chapter talking about various stuff that was covered in the chapter. One article described that orange growers spray their oranges with water when temperatures got below freezing.
Jan 05, 2004
How did you come up with that teaser or any other teaser ever created by you.
My teasers come from experience. Most of my teasers get rejected because they are too complicated.
They don't get rejected because they are too complicated. If they are rejected it is because some times we are unable to confirm the facts. It would be unwise to accept a teaser with out being able to at least check its validity.
Very well said Mad-Ade. Having teasers be reviewed, edited, and sometimes rejected really is in the best interest of this site. A look at some of the older teasers on the site confirms this. Oh, and let me say that of all the brainteaser websites I've encountered, this is by far the best--both in terms of content and design.
It is true that this technique is used to protect orchards...oranges, apples, pears. Good work.
Good one. I learned something! The "access to the water hose" kinda gave it away though. Maybe this would have been better in teh hint. (Something to think of for next time)
Jan 07, 2004
So, does this work because oranges have thick skins? It seems that having ice on them would harm the oranges. But then I'm not a farmer, and you guys seem to know what you're talking about.
I figured he would have just let them freeze to make frozen O.J .
That was good. I knew about this already, since I'm from Florida. We don't get many freezes, but when we do, it's all over the news. lol. Farmers spraying plants with water on the news.
I have known about the spraying of orange trees since I was a kid so this one was pretty easy. But if you want to make it a bit harder than think about what would happen if they sprayed salt water on the fruit instead.
Then it would freeze at a lower temperature and would probably freeze the fruit.
didnt no that, so i learned something fun teaser.
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