An object with a mass of 90 g is dropped into 750 mL of water at 0^@C. If the object cools by 30 ^@C and the water warms by 18 ^@C, what is the specific heat of the material that the object is made of?

1 Answer
Mar 20, 2016

Keep in mind that the heat the water receives is equal to the heat that the object loses and that heat is equal to:

Q=m*c*ΔT

Answer is:

c_(object)=5(kcal)/(kg*C)

Explanation:

Known constants:

c_(water)=1(kcal)/(kg*C)

ρ_(water)=1(kg)/(lit)->1kg=1lit which means that litres and kilograms are equal.

The heat that the water received is equal to the heat that the object lost. This heat is equal to:

Q=m*c*ΔT

Therefore:

Q_(water)=Q_(object)

m_(water)*c_(water)*ΔT_(water)=m_(object)*color(green)(c_(object))*ΔT_(object)

c_(object)=(m_(water)*c_(water)*ΔT_(water))/(m_(object)*ΔT_(object))

c_(object)=(0.75*1*18(cancel(kg)*(kcal)/(cancel(kg)*cancel(C))*cancel(C)))/((0.09*30)(kg*C))

c_(object)=5(kcal)/(kg*C)