Question

During a science experiment, the initial temperature of an unknown solution is 133.3 Kelvin. A scientist mixes another chemical with the solution. After five minutes, the chemical reaction causes the temperature of the solution to be -153.6 Kelvin.

a. Write and solve an equation that to find the temperature change caused by the chemical reaction.
b. Did the chemical reaction cause an increase or decrease in the temperature of the solution? Explain.

Answer 1

A temperature change calculation in Kelvin assumes the final temperature is above absolute zero, leading to a positive change, indicating an increase in temperature caused by the chemical reaction.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the temperature change caused by the chemical reaction, we need to calculate the difference between the final and initial temperatures. However, a temperature of -153.6 Kelvin is not physically possible, as the Kelvin scale does not go below zero. The lowest possible temperature, 0 Kelvin, is absolute zero. If we assume that the final temperature provided is inaccurate and really meant to represent a temperature above absolute zero, such as 153.6 Kelvin, we will calculate the change as follows:

ΔT = T_{final} - T_{initial} = 153.6 K - 133.3 K = 20.3 K

Therefore, the temperature change would be 20.3 Kelvin. Since the final temperature is higher than the initial temperature, the chemical reaction caused an increase in the temperature of the solution.