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Does hot water really freeze quicker than water at room temperature?

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Does hot water really freeze quicker than water at room temperature?

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In most cases the answer is no. All things being equal, the room temperature water will have a head start and will freeze first. The hot water must first cool down to room temperature and then it will simply follow the behavior of the room temperature water. However, in the special case where the water is held in an insulated container that’s open at the top, it’s possible for hot water to freeze faster. That’s because evaporation of water molecules from the exposed surface of the hot water makes an important contribution to the cooling process in that case and a significant fraction of the water molecules will have left the container by the time it reaches room temperature. Since it takes less time to freeze a smaller quantity of water, the container of hot water can freeze before the container of room temperature water. However, there will be less ice in the container that was once filled with hot water. There is another interesting effect that occurs when freezing hot water. If you

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