A MATLAB-Based Interactive Learning Tool for Newton’s Law of Cooling and Heating

About the Project

Newton’s Law of Cooling (or Heating) describes the rate at which an object’s temperature changes in relation to its surrounding environment and has various real-world applications, including monitoring the cooling of cooked food in food safety, estimating the time of death in forensic science, and analysing heating and cooling processes in engineering. It is also an important topic in Differential Equations courses for Science and Engineering students at universities in Malaysia, including Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), due to its wide range of practical applications. Before the law can be applied, the temperature function, T, in terms of time, t, must first be obtained by solving the related differential equation. However, obtaining analytical solutions and calculating temperature-time relationships manually can be time-consuming and prone to computational errors, particularly for inexperienced users, as the process involves exponential and logarithmic calculations. Therefore, the developed MATLAB GUI for Newton’s Law of Cooling or Heating aims to obtain the solution of the related differential equation, predict temperature changes over a specified time interval, and determine the time required to reach a desired temperature. The novelty of the application lies in its mathematical formulation and integration of a dual-direction calculator with built-in dynamic graphing. The dual-direction calculator allows users to predict the temperature after a specified time and determine the time required to reach a specified temperature, while the dynamic graphing feature visualizes the cooling or heating curve based on the user’s input. The application also supports SDG 4: Quality Education by promoting interactive and engaging learning, and SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure by demonstrating the use of mathematical modelling and computational tools in an innovative application with potential applications in engineering and industry. As for the implementation and impacts of our application, a survey was conducted among 50 students after they used the MATLAB application during a teaching and learning session. The survey results indicate that most students agreed that the application helped them understand Newton’s Law of Cooling and Heating more clearly, while the graphical visualization improved their understanding of temperature changes over time. Overall, the responses suggest that the application supports students’ understanding, visualization, and practical application of the concept. In addition, most students agreed that the application made the learning session more interactive and engaging and was effective as a teaching aid for the subject. In summary, the application supports teaching and learning while also offering potential for commercialization and broader applications in engineering, industry, and forensic science, particularly in areas involving heating and cooling processes.