While traveling, you find yourself in a hotel room where using the thermostat leads to large oscillations in the room's temperature. The thermostat responds to the room's air temperature by turning on an air conditioner if the temperature near the thermostat gets too warm. Similarly, when the temperature near the thermostat gets cold, the air conditioner switches off.

What is the main cause of these oscillations?

The large oscillations in room temperature are caused by negative feedback from the thermostat, which turns the air conditioning on and off to maintain a set temperature range, leading to oscillations if not optimally configured.

Explanation:

A thermostat operates by providing negative feedback: it turns the air conditioner on when the room temperature exceeds a certain threshold (too warm) and turns it off when the temperature drops below a certain point (too cold). This process of turning the air conditioning on and off causes the room's temperature to oscillate back and forth within a specific range.

Negative feedback is designed to maintain homeostasis or a stable state within the system by correcting deviations from a set point. However, if the thermostat is placed too far from the air conditioner or if its sensitivity settings are not optimized, it can lead to larger than desired temperature oscillations as the system struggles to precisely regulate the room's temperature.