Question

When a 58.8-g piece of hot alloy is placed in 125 g of cold water in a calorimeter, the temperature of tile alloy decreases by 106.1∘C106.1∘C, while the temperature of the water increases by 10.5∘C10.5∘C. What is the specific heat of the alloy?

Answer 1

The specific heat of the alloy is calculated using the conservation of energy formula, balancing the heat lost by the alloy with the heat gained by the water to find that the specific heat of the alloy is 0.885 J/g°C.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the specific heat of the alloy, we can use the principle of conservation of energy. The heat lost by the hot alloy will be equal to the heat gained by the cold water. We can express this with the formula:

Heat lost by alloy = Heat gained by water

(Mass of alloy) × (Specific heat of alloy) × (Change in temperature of alloy) = (Mass of water) × (Specific heat of water) × (Change in temperature of water)

Let C be the specific heat of the alloy, then:

(58.8 g) × (C) × (106.1°C) = (125 g) × (4.18 J/g°C) × (10.5°C)

We can now solve for C:

(58.8 g) × (C) × (106.1°C) = 5518.5 J

C = 5518.5 J / (58.8 g × 106.1°C)

C = 0.885 J/g°C

The specific heat of the alloy is 0.885 J/g°C.