Question

12.34 Three identical beakers each hold 1000 g of water at 20C 100g of liquid water at 0C is added to the first beaker, 100 g of ice at 0C is added to the second beaker, and the third beaker gets 100G of aluminum at 0C. The contents of which container end up at the lowest final temperature?

A. The first Beaker. B. The second Beaker C. The third beaker D. All end up at the same temperature

Answer 1

The second beaker, which had ice added to it, will have the lowest final temperature due to the energy required for the ice to melt, which cools the surrounding water more than the other additions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The container that ends up at the lowest final temperature is the one with the ice added, which is the second beaker. When 100g of ice at 0°C is added to the second beaker, the energy required for the phase change from ice to liquid (melting) must be taken from the water in the beaker. This latent heat of fusion will lower the temperature of the water in the second beaker more than the other scenarios where there is no phase change involved and merely sensible heat transfer occurs.