Question

Explain why
(a) we wear woolen clothes in winter.
(b) the water pipes are covered with cotton during very cold weather.

Answer 1

(a) Woolen clothes have fine pores filled with air. Wool and air both are bad conductors of heat. Therefore in winter, we wear woolen clothes as they check the conduction of heat from the body to the surroundings and thus keeps the body warm.
(b) During very cold weather, the water pipes are covered with cotton. The cotton has air trapped in its fine pores. The cotton and air are the insulators of heat. They do not pass heat from water inside the pipes to the outside atmosphere. Thus, cotton prevents the water in the pipes from freezing.