Final answer:
The changing of rain to snow as the air temperature drops is explained by the First Law of Thermodynamics, concerning energy conservation during the phase change. Meanwhile, the non-spontaneous heat transfer from a cold to a hot object is described by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which addresses the direction of heat flow and entropy.
Step-by-step explanation:
When the air temperature drops and rain turns to snow, this phenomenon can be described by the First Law of Thermodynamics. This law, also known as the law of energy conservation, states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. In the case of rain turning into snow, the thermal energy of the water decreases as it releases heat to the colder environment, leading to a phase change from liquid to solid.
As for the scenario where a cold object does not spontaneously transfer energy by heat to a hot object, this is explained by the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The Second Law indicates that the flow of heat is always from a higher temperature to a lower one and that entropy, or disorder, tends to increase in an isolated system. Therefore, a cold object in contact with a hot one does not transfer heat to the hot object because it would decrease entropy, which is not spontaneous in nature.
The Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics is about thermal equilibrium and the transitive property of temperature. It is mentioned for its foundational role in the understanding of thermodynamic laws, providing the basis by stating that if two systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third system, then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other.