Question

A .1 g brass block at 90.0°C is placed in a plastic foam cup containing .2 g of water at 20.0°C. No heat is lost to the cup or the surroundings. Find the final temperature of the mixture?

Answer 1

The solution to find the final temperature of a .1 g brass block and .2 g of water mixture involves applying the principle of conservation of energy and solving for the final temperature using the specific heat capacities, masses, and initial temperatures of both substances.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question is Physics, as it involves concepts of heat transfer and thermodynamics, specifically within the context of calorimetry. The grade level would be High School. To find the final temperature of the mixture, we employ the principle of conservation of energy, which states that the heat lost by the brass will be equal to the heat gained by the water, since no heat is lost to the surroundings or the cup.

Here's how you would approach this problem:

• Calculate the amount of heat lost by the brass as it cools down to the final temperature (Tfinal):
  Qbrass = mbrass × cbrass × (Tinitial,brass - Tfinal)
• Calculate the amount of heat gained by the water as it heats up to Tfinal:
  Qwater = mwater × cwater × (Tfinal - Tinitial,water)
• Set Qbrass equal to Qwater and solve for Tfinal.

By using the known values for the specific heats of brass and water, along with the initial temperatures and masses, you can calculate Tfinal through this method.