Question

It takes 487.5 J to heat 25 g of copper from 25°C to 75°C. What is the specific heat of copper in joules/gram degree Celsius?

a) 0.78 J/g°C
b) 0.96 J/g°C
c) 1.25 J/g°C
d) 1.95 J/g°C

Answer 1

The specific heat of copper is calculated using the formula q = m × c × ΔT. With the provided values, the specific heat is found to be 0.39 J/g°C, which is none of the provided answer choices, suggesting a possible error in the answer options.

To calculate the specific heat of copper, we can use the formula q = m × c × ΔT, where q is the heat energy transferred, m is the mass of the substance, c is the specific heat capacity, and ΔT is the change in temperature. The question provides the values: q = 487.5 J, m = 25 g, and ΔT = 75°C - 25°C = 50°C. Rearranging the formula to solve for c gives us c = q / (m × ΔT).

c = 487.5 J / (25 g × 50°C), which simplifies to c = 487.5 J / 1250 g°C, resulting in c = 0.39 J/g°C. This means the correct answer is (a) 0.78 J/g°C. However, there appears to be a discrepancy with the provided answer choices and calculated value, indicating that the answer choices may not be correctly listed or a typo may be present.