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PLEASE HELP MEE

Two blocks of silver have a temperature of 175°C. One block has a mass of 33g, the other block has a mass of 300g. Do the blocks have the same amount of thermal energy? Why or why not?

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Answer & Explanation FROM YOUR TEACHER:

The blocks does not have the same amount of thermal energy

The mass and temperature of an item are both inversely correlated with thermal energy. Thermal energy is expressed as follows:

Mass times Specific Heat Capacity times Temperature equals thermal energy.

where the material's specific heat capacity relates the amount of heat required to raise a unit mass of the material's temperature by one degree Celsius.

Even if the two blocks are at the same temperature, they will have different quantities of thermal energy since they have different masses. Assuming they are both composed of the same material and have the same specific heat capacity, the block with a mass of 300g will contain more thermal energy than the block with a mass of 33g.

33g × specific heat capacity x 175°C Equals 33g thermal energy of a 33g block.

Heat capacity of a 300g block is equal to 300g times 175°C in terms of thermal energy.

The thermal energy of the two blocks will vary since the masses are different.

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