Question

A 200.0 g copper block absorbs 2.34x10^3 J of heat to raise its temperature by 30.0 K. What is the specific heat of copper? Show your work.

Answer 1

If an object with mass m absorbs an amount Q of heat and increases its temperature by ΔT, the specific heat (c) of the material is defined as:

`c=(Q)/(m\Delta T)`

The specific heat is the amount of heat per unit mass needed to increase the temperature of a sample, per unit temperature.

Replace Q=2.34*10^3J, m=0.2kg and ΔT=30K to find the specific heat of copper:

`c=(2.34*10^3J)/((0.2kg)(30K))=390(J)/(kg\cdot K)`

Therefore, the specific heat of copper is 390 J/(kg*K).