Question

It is necessary to determine the specific heat of an unknown object. The mass of the object is 201.0 g. It is determined experimentally that it takes 15.0 J to raise the temperature 10.0 ° C. What is the specific heat of the object?

Answer 1

mass = 0.201kg
Energy = 15J
temperature change = 10C

Energy(E) = mass(m) × specific heat capacity(c) × temperature change(θ)

we can rearrange this to make specific heat capacity the subject

c =
`(E)/(m\theta)`

c =
`(15)/(2.01)`
c =7.46268657

Answer 2

The specific heat of the object is 0.0074 J/(g °C)

Step-by-step explanation:

Data

mass, m = 201 g

Heat, Q = 15 J

temperature change, ΔT = 10 °C

specific heat, cp = ?

The equation that relates these variables is:

Q = m*cp*ΔT

Solving for specific heat we get:

cp = Q/(m*ΔT)

Replacing with data (units are ommited):

cp = 15/(201*10)

cp = 0.0074 J/(g °C)