A walrus loses heat by conduction through its blubber at the

A walrus loses heat by conduction through its blubber at the rate of 130 W when immersed in -1.00°C water. Its internal core temperature is 37.0°C, and it has a surface area of 1.50 m2. What is the average thickness of its blubber, which has the conductivity of fatty tissue without blood?

Solution

For a given temperature difference, we have the equation of the heat transfer as:

Q = kA(T2T2) / d

where k is the thermal conductivity, Q is the heat transfered, d is the distance through which this transfer happens. T1 -T2 gives the difference in the temperatute and A is the area through which the transfer happens.

Now, subsituting the values, we get: 130 = 0.201*1.5 * 38 / d

Hence d = 8.8 cm

NOTE: You might have to look up for the value of thermal conductivity of fatty tissue. The value which I found was 0.201 for humans, I have substituted the same. You might want to check with some other value.