Question

A chemist carefully measures the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a 833.0 g sample of a pure substance from -9.4 c to 11.1 c. The experiment shows that 7.67 kj of heat are needed. What can the chemist report for the specific heat capacity of the substance? Round your answer to 3 significant digits.

Answer 1

The specific heat capacity of the substance is approximately 0.004 J/g °C.

Step-by-step explanation:

The specific heat capacity of a substance is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of the substance by 1 degree Celsius. To calculate the specific heat capacity, we can use the formula:

Specific heat capacity = q / (mass * change in temperature)

Given that the mass of the substance is 833.0 g and the change in temperature is 11.1 °C - (-9.4 °C) = 20.5 °C, we can substitute these values into the formula:

Specific heat capacity = 7.67 kJ / (833.0 g * 20.5 °C)

Simplifying the calculation, the specific heat capacity of the substance is approximately 0.004 J/g °C. Rounded to 3 significant digits, the specific heat capacity can be reported as 0.004 J/g °C.