Question

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, has a dense atmosphere rich in nitrogen, with some methane: It is cold enough for methane to exist in all 3 phases (solid, liquid and gas), just as water naturally does on Earth (ice, liquid water; water vapour): How much heat is released when 60 g of methane rain freezes on Titan? [The melting point of methane is 90.7 K,and its latent heat of fusion is 58,999 J/K]:

Answer 1

To find the heat released when 60 g of methane freezes on Titan, the mass is multiplied by the latent heat of fusion for methane, resulting in 3,539.94 Joules of heat released.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine how much heat is released when 60 g of methane freezes on Titan, we first need to understand the concept of latent heat of fusion. The latent heat of fusion is the amount of heat released or absorbed when a substance changes states from liquid to solid or vice versa at its melting/freezing point without changing temperature. In this case, because Titan has an atmosphere consisting primarily of nitrogen with a colder temperature that allows methane to exist in all three states, we can safely say that methane will behave similarly to water on Earth regarding phase changes.

The latent heat of fusion for methane is given to be 58,999 J/K (Joules per kilogram). To find the total heat released when 60 g of methane freezes, we can use the formula:

Heat released (Q) = mass (m) × latent heat of fusion (L)

First, convert the mass of methane from grams to kilograms:

60 g × (1 kg / 1000 g) = 0.060 kg

Then, multiply the mass in kilograms by the latent heat of fusion:

Q = 0.060 kg × 58,999 J/kg

Q = 3,539.94 J

Therefore, when 60 g of methane rain freezes on Titan, 3,539.94 Joules of heat is released.