Final answer:
To determine the mass of ice that was initially placed in the vessel, we need to analyze the changes in temperature over time. The ice melts at 0°C, so we can calculate the mass of ice by equating the heat transfer required to melt the ice with the heat transferred during the time period. Plugging in the values, the mass of ice is approximately 0.012 kg.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the mass of ice that was initially placed in the vessel, we need to analyze the changes in temperature over time. From 0 to 45 minutes, the mixture remains at 0°C, indicating that the ice is melting but no temperature change occurs. From 45 to 60 minutes, the temperature increases steadily from 0°C to 2.0°C, implying that the ice has completely melted and only water remains.
Since the ice melts at 0°C, the heat transfer required to melt the ice can be calculated using the heat equation: Q = mL, where Q is the heat transfer, m is the mass of the ice, and L is the latent heat of fusion for water (334,000 J/kg). Assuming a constant power input, the heat transferred during the 15 minutes is Q = Pt, where P is the power and t is the time in seconds.
By equating the two expressions for Q, we can solve for the mass of the ice: m = Pt / L. Plugging in the values (P = 60 W, t = 15 min = 900 s, L = 334,000 J/kg), we can calculate the mass of ice that was initially placed in the vessel to be approximately 0.012 kg.