Answer 1:
There are several ways that heat can be
transmitted, but in this case we're talking about
light, so it's helpful to talk about
radiative heat, which is transmitted
through infrared radiation that is invisible to
our eye. In the case of a visible color,
the fact that a material has color means that
the material is absorbing some colors of light.
However, in general, the color of something might
not be as significant as the general material
of an object. (For example, is it metal, is
it plastic, is it wood?) In this case, a black
styrofoam cup would keep a liquid hot much longer
than a white metal cup.
However, if everything else were the same we
could look at very small differences in
temperature, and if the color of a cup led to the
cup absorbing less (that is, reflecting more)
infrared light from the water, it should keep the
water longer for a little longer. This would be
a good opportunity to do an experiment!
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