Question

A chemist places a 100 g cube of each of the metals listed in the table on a separate hot plate. All of the

hot plates are identical. Each hot plate is set on medium heat, and all of the cubes have the same initial
temperature. Based on the specific heat values in the table, rank the metals in terms of how quickly they
will reach the target temperature of 80°C. Use "1" to indicate the fastest and "5" to indicate the slowest
PE
Substance
Fe(s)
Al(s)
Cu(s)
Sn(s)
Pb(s)
Cp (J/g•°C)
0.450
0.897
0.385
0.227
0.129
LE​

Answer 1

Pb(s), Sn(s), Cu(s), Fe(s), Al(s)

Step-by-step explanation:

The specific heat (Cp) of a substance is defined as the heat required per unit of mass to raise the temperature in 1°C.

Thus, the substance with the larger Cp will need more energy to reach a temperature and vice versa.

Based on this information, the fastest metal to reach 80°C will be Pb -lowest Cp-, then Sn, Cu, Fe and Al.

From 1 to 5:

Pb(s), Sn(s), Cu(s), Fe(s), Al(s)