Question

how much energy (measured in sticks of dynamite) is needed to completely boil away one gallon of water?

Answer 1

To boil away one gallon of water, approximately 8.52 sticks of dynamite worth of energy are needed, exemplifying the significant energy required for the vaporization of water.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the energy needed to boil away one gallon of water, we need to know the specific heat of vaporization for water and the amount of water in one gallon. The specific heat of vaporization for water is approximately 2,250 Joules per gram. Since there are about 3,785 grams in one gallon, the energy required is 2,250 J/g × 3,785 g, which equals 8,516,250 J (or about 8.52 megajoules).

Comparing this to the energy of dynamite, a single stick of dynamite contains roughly 1 megajoule of energy. Therefore, to boil away one gallon of water, you would need approximately 8.52 sticks of dynamite worth of energy. This is a substantial amount of energy, reflecting how vaporization requires much more energy than simply raising the temperature of water to the boiling point.

Answer 2

To boil away one gallon of water, which is 3,785 grams, it requires 8,516,250 joules of energy. This amount of energy is equivalent to around 8.52 sticks of dynamite, given that each stick of dynamite contains roughly 1 megajoule (1,000,000 joules) of energy.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the energy required to boil away one gallon of water, we first need to know the specific heat of vaporization for water. It's given that it takes 2,250 J to evaporate each gram of water. One gallon of water is approximately 3,785 grams (since 1 gallon ≈ 3.785 liters and 1 liter of water has a mass of about 1 kilogram or 1,000 grams).

Therefore, the total energy (E) needed to evaporate one gallon of water is:

E = mass (m) × heat of vaporization (Hv)

Where:

• m = 3,785 grams
• Hv = 2,250 J/g

E = 3,785 g × 2,250 J/g = 8,516,250 J

We can compare this to the energy of a stick of dynamite. A typical stick of dynamite contains about 1 megajoule (1,000,000 J) of energy. Thus, the energy needed to boil one gallon of water is equivalent to approximately:

Energy in sticks of dynamite = 8,516,250 J / 1,000,000 J/stick ≈ 8.52 sticks of dynamite.