Question

A 90-g chunk of iron at 86°C is dropped into a cavity in a very large block of ice at 0°C. What is the final temperature of the system when thermal equilibrium is reached?

A. -43°C

B. 0°C

C. 43°C

D. 86°C

Answer 1

The final temperature of the system when thermal equilibrium is reached is 0°C.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the iron is dropped into the ice, it will transfer heat to the ice until they reach thermal equilibrium. This means that the final temperature of the system will be somewhere between the initial temperature of the iron (86°C) and the initial temperature of the ice (0°C).

The final temperature can be calculated using the heat transfer equation:

Q_iron + Q_ice = 0

where Q_iron is the heat lost by the iron and Q_ice is the heat gained by the ice.

Since the specific heat capacity of iron is greater than that of ice, it will take less heat transfer to lower the temperature of the iron compared to raising the temperature of the ice. Therefore, the final temperature will be closer to the initial temperature of the ice (0°C) than the initial temperature of the iron (86°C).

So, the final temperature of the system when thermal equilibrium is reached is 0°C (Option B).