Question

A 10.0g piece of copper wire, sitting in the sun reaches a temperature of 80.0 C. how many Joules are released when the copper cools to 40.0 C? The specific heat capacity of copper is 0.377 j/(g.C)

Answer 1

150.8 J

Step-by-step explanation:

The heat released by the copper wire is given by:

`Q=mC_s \Delta T`

where:

m = 10.0 g is the mass of the wire

Cs = 0.377 j/(g.C) is the specific heat capacity of copper

`\Delta T=40.0 C - 80.0 C=-40.0 C` is the change in temperature of the wire

Substituting into the equation, we find

`Q=(10.0 g)(0.377 J/gC)(-40.0^(\circ))=-150.8 J`

And the sign is negative because the heat is released by the wire.