Final answer:
The student used 12,540 J of energy to heat the water.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the amount of energy used to heat the water, we can use the formula:
Q = mcΔT,
where Q is the heat energy, m is the mass of the water, c is the specific heat capacity of water, and ΔT is the change in temperature.
Since we have the volume of water (50 mL), we can convert it to mass using the density of water which is 1 gram per milliliter.
So, the mass of the water is 50 grams.
The specific heat capacity of water is approximately 4.18 J/g°C.
The change in temperature is 60°C. Plugging these values into the formula, we get:
Q = (50 g)(4.18 J/g°C)(60°C) = 12,540 J.