Question

Carrie is trying to figure out the number of calories in a cube of cheese. To do this, she pours 99.3 mL of water into an aluminum can suspended from a ring stand. She takes the temperature of the water, and finds it to be 17.0 degrees Celsius. Then, she places the 5.23 gram cube of cheese under the can and lights it on fire! While the cheese is burning and for a few minutes after it is done, Carrie records the temperature of the water, finding that it levels out at 33.8 degrees Celsius. How many calories of heat were gained by the water? Please answer to the nearest 0.1 calorie

Answer 1

To calculate the number of calories of heat gained by the water, we can use the formula:

q = m × c × ΔT

where q is the heat gained by the water, m is the mass of the water, c is the specific heat of water, and ΔT is the change in temperature.

First, we need to calculate the mass of the water. We know that the volume of water is 99.3 mL, which is equivalent to 99.3 g (since the density of water is 1 g/mL).

Next, we can calculate the change in temperature of the water:

ΔT = 33.8°C - 17.0°C = 16.8°C

Finally, we can substitute these values into the formula and solve for q:

q = m × c × ΔT
q = 99.3 g × 1 cal/g°C × 16.8°C
q = 1670.04 cal

Therefore, the number of calories of heat gained by the water is approximately 1670.0 calories (rounded to the nearest 0.1 calorie).