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Does brass or water require more thermal energy for each degree of temperature change? Explain.

(Hint- think about the temperature change to reach thermal equilibrium of water vs brass)

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Answer: Brass requires more thermal energy for each degree of temperature change compared to water.

Explanation: Brass requires more thermal energy for each degree of temperature change compared to water. This is because brass has a higher specific heat capacity than water. Specific heat capacity is the amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a given amount of substance by 1 degree Celsius.

The specific heat capacity of brass is 0.38 J/g°C, while that of water is 4.18 J/g°C. This means that it takes 0.38 Joules of energy to raise the temperature of 1 gram of brass by 1 degree Celsius, while it takes 4.18 Joules of energy to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius.

In practical terms, this means that if a 1-gram piece of brass and a 1-gram volume of water are both initially at 25°C and are heated to 30°C, it would take 0.38 Joules of energy to heat the brass and 4.18 Joules of energy to heat the water to the same temperature. Therefore, more thermal energy is required to heat brass compared to water for each degree of temperature change.

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