Question

25. Heat is supplied at the same rate to two metals at room temperature. Which metal will reach 20° above room temperature first?Select one:a. Iron will reach 20° above room temperature first because it has a lower specific heat.b. Silver will reach 20° above room temperature first because it has a higher specific heat.c. They will reach room temperature in the same amount of time.d. It depends on the room temperature.

Answer 1

The specific heat capacity is defined as the thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a specific mass of a material a specific amount. The one with the highest specific heat capacity would have the smallest rise in temperature.

Since:

`\begin{gathered} ci=Specific_{\text{ }}heat_{\text{ }}of_{\text{ }}iron=0.1 \\ ca=Specific_{\text{ }}heat_{\text{ }}of_{\text{ }}aluminum=0.2 \\ ca>ci \end{gathered}`

We can conclude that the answer is:

a. Iron will reach 20° above room temperature first because it has a lower specific heat.