Final answer:
To find the final temperature of the aluminum and water, use the principle of heat transfer and the equation q = mcΔT. Set the heat for the aluminum equal to the heat for the water and solve for T_f. The final temperature is approximately 27.8°C.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the final temperature of the aluminum and water, we can use the principle of heat transfer: q_aluminum = -q_water. The heat lost by the aluminum is equal to the heat gained by the water, assuming no heat is lost to the surroundings.
Using the equation q = mcΔT, where q is heat, m is mass, c is specific heat, and ΔT is the change in temperature, we can calculate the heat for both substances. For the aluminum, q_aluminum = (39.9 g)(0.903 J/(g·°C))(T_f - 85.4 °C). For the water, q_water = (50.0 mL)(1 g/mL)(4.18 J/(g·°C))(T_f - 25.0 °C).
Setting these two equations equal to each other and solving for T_f (the final temperature of both substances), we can find that T_f ≈ 27.8°C.