Final answer:
To calculate the temperature increase in the hands, multiply the force, the distance per rub, and the number of rubs to find the total work done, then apply the work to the equation relating work, mass, specific heat capacity, and temperature change.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks about the temperature increase in a woman's hands as a result of rubbing them together, generating heat through the conversion of work into thermal energy. To calculate this, we will first determine the amount of work done, which is equal to the force times the distance times the number of rubs. With a force of 40.0 N, a distance of 7.50 cm per rub, and a total of 20 rubs, the work done can be calculated in joules (J).
Afterwards, we can use the equation of work = mass × specific heat capacity × temperature change to calculate the temperature increase. Given the mass of the tissues warmed is 0.100 kg, and using the specific heat capacity of human tissue (approximately 3.47 J/g°C), we can solve for the temperature increase.
It's important to note that this explanation is a simplification and in a real scenario, factors like heat loss to the environment would need to be considered. However, for the purpose of a high school physics problem, the calculation assumes that all the work done goes into heating the tissue with no heat loss.