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Sulfur dioxide, SO2, is a chemical preservative and antioxidant put in food and beverages in the US. It is stored in cool, dry warehouses in 5-liter containers, which hold a mass of 14.6 kg of SO2 gas. On Friday, May 27, ErCOT experiences a brown-out and the warehouse loses power, which causes it to heat up. If the warehouse is typically kept at 20°C and it heats up to 85°C, how much thermal energy does one container of sulfur dioxide absorb, in kilojoules? [The specific heat capacity of sulfur dioxide at 20°C is 1.37 J/g°C.]

User Adeelmahmood
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1 Answer

25 votes
25 votes

Q=mcΔt

Q=14.6 x 10³ x 1.37 x (85-20)

Q=1.3 x 10⁶ J = 1.3 x 10³ kJ

User Andy Lynch
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