Question

You have a 10 gram piece of aluminum and a 10 gram piece of silver sitting in the sun. which metal will warm by ten degrees first? specific heat of silver is 0.233 and specific heat of aluminum is 0.897.

a. specific heat has no effect.
b. silver
c. aluminum

Answer 1

Given the lower specific heat of silver (0.233 J/g°C) compared to aluminum (0.897 J/g°C), a 10-gram piece of silver will warm by ten degrees faster than a 10-gram piece of aluminum when exposed to the same amount of heat. Hence, option (b) is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student asks which metal, aluminum or silver, each with a mass of 10 grams, will warm by ten degrees first when left in the sun, given that the specific heat of silver is 0.233 J/g°C and the specific heat of aluminum is 0.897 J/g°C.

The specific heat of a material dictates how much energy is required to raise the temperature of a certain amount of that material by one degree Celsius. The metal with the lower specific heat will require less energy to increase its temperature, hence it will warm up faster when exposed to the same energy source.

Since silver has a lower specific heat (0.233 J/g°C) compared to aluminum (0.897 J/g°C), it will heat up faster than aluminum. Therefore, given the same conditions, the 10-gram piece of silver will warm by ten degrees first.