Question

What is the specific heat capacity of a substance if it takes 4.4 kJ of heat to warm511.2 g by 16.3°C?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation

The equation that relates a temperature change and the heat required is:

`Q=mc\Delta T`

Where Q is the head requiredm m is the mass involved, cis the specific heat capacity and ΔT is the change in temperature.

Since we are warming, the change in temperature is positive, so:

`\Delta T=16.3\degree C`

And we also have Q and m:

`\begin{gathered} Q=4.4kJ=4400J \\ m=511.2g \end{gathered}`

Solving the equation for c and inputting the values, we have:

`\begin{gathered} Q=mc\Delta T \\ c=(Q)/(m\Delta T)=(4400J)/(511.2g16.3\degree C)=0.5280\ldots J/(g\degree C)\approx0.53J/(g\degree C) \end{gathered}`

Answer

The specific heat capacity is approximately 0.53 J/(g°C)