Question

A metal ball of mass 100 g is heated to 90 °C and then cooled to 25 °C. The heat lost in the process is 2.5 kJ. Another metal ball of mass 200 g is heated to 90 °C and then cooled to 25 °C. The heat lost in the process is 5.0 kJ. What can be concluded from the data?

a) The specific heat of the first metal ball is higher than the second.
b) The specific heat of the second metal ball is higher than the first.
c) The specific heat of both metal balls is the same.
d) The mass of the metal ball does not affect the heat lost.

Answer 1

The specific heat of both metal balls is the same because the heat loss to mass ratio is equal for the two given metal balls.

Step-by-step explanation:

From the data provided, we can conclude that the specific heat of both metal balls is the same. This is because the ratio of heat loss to mass is equal in both cases. For the first metal ball, 100 g of mass lost 2.5 kJ of heat when it was cooled. Similarly, the second metal ball, with double the mass (200 g), lost double the amount of heat (5.0 kJ) when cooled. This proportional change indicates that both metal balls have the identical specific heat capacity, hence option c) The specific heat of both metal balls is the same would be the correct conclusion.