Final answer:
Copper, with the lowest specific heat capacity (0.39 J/g°C) among the listed substances, would experience the greatest temperature change upon absorbing 2.35 kJ of heat. This is because it takes less energy to raise the temperature of copper than substances with higher specific heat capacities like water, aluminum, and ethanol.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question at hand involves understanding the concept of specific heat capacity, which is a measure of how much energy a substance can absorb per unit mass before its temperature changes by one degree Celsius. To determine which substance would show the greatest temperature change upon absorbing 2.35 kJ of heat, we refer to the specific heat capacities of the given substances. The substance with the lowest specific heat capacity will experience the largest temperature change because it requires less energy to change its temperature.
Copper has a specific heat of approximately 0.39 J/g°C, water has a high specific heat of 4.18 J/g°C, aluminum has a specific heat of 0.90 J/g°C, and ethanol also has a high specific heat, but typically lower than water. Therefore, copper, having the lowest specific heat of the listed substances, would exhibit the greatest temperature change when a fixed amount of heat is absorbed.
Additionally, this concept is further explained through an example where the energy required to change the temperature of a 2 kg mass of aluminum by 3 °C is calculated. By knowing the specific heat of aluminum (900 J/kg°C), we can compute the energy as energy = mass × specific heat × temperature change, which equals 1.3 kJ.