Final answer:
To determine the energy released when mercury is cooled and frozen, we must know its specific heat capacity and heat of fusion. In a two-step process, we calculate the energy lost in cooling and the energy released during solidification.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the specific quantity of energy, in joules, that is released when 1.70 ml of mercury is cooled from 23.0°C to its freezing point of -38.8°C and undergoes a phase change to become a solid. To answer this question, we would need to know the heat capacity of mercury in its liquid state, as well as its heat of fusion for the solidification process.
Since the question does not provide these values, and assuming we are interested only in qualitative estimation, we can discuss the process in general terms. To calculate the total energy released, we would first use the heat capacity of mercury to find the energy released in cooling from 23.0°C to -38.8°C. Next, we would use the heat of fusion of mercury to calculate the energy released during the phase change from liquid to solid.