Question

Find the specific heat of an unknown metal with an initial temperature of 16.0 Celsius when 3500 joules are added to a 40.0g sample and the final temperature is 81.0 Celsius.

A) 0.47 J/g°C
B) 0.87 J/g°C
C) 0.54 J/g°C
D) 1.25 J/g°C

Answer 1

The specific heat of the unknown metal with an initial temperature of 16.0 Celsius when 3500 joules are added to a 40.0g sample and the final temperature is 81.0 Celsius is 0.47 J/g°C (Option A).

Step-by-step explanation:

The specific heat of a substance is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of the substance by 1 degree Celsius.

To find the specific heat of an unknown metal given the initial and final temperatures, the mass of the sample, and the amount of heat added, we use the formula:

Q = mcΔT

where:

• Q is the amount of heat added (in joules),
• m is the mass of the substance (in grams),
• c is the specific heat capacity (in J/g°C),
• ΔT is the change in temperature (in °C).

Plugging in the given values:

Specific heat = 3500 J / (40.0 g * (81.0 °C - 16.0 °C))

= 0.47 J/g°C

Calculating this gives us a specific heat of 0.47 J/g°C, which corresponds to Option A.