Question

If 1495 j of heat is needed to raise the temperature of a 361 g sample of a metal from 55.0°c to 66.0°c, what is the specific heat capacity of the metal?

Answer 1

When a certain amount of heat Q is absorbed by a substance, its temperature increases by
`\Delta T` following the relationship

`Q= m C_s \Delta T`
where m is the mass of the substance and
`C_s` is the specific heat of the substance.

For the metal in our problem, the mass of the sample is m=361 g, the amount of heat is Q=1495 J, and the temperature difference is

`\Delta T = 66C-55C=11^(\circ) C`
so by re-arranging the previous formula and by substituting the numbers we can find the specific heat of the metal:

`C_s = (Q)/(m \Delta T)= (1495 J)/((361 g)(11 ^(\circ)C))=0.38 Jg^(-1) C^(-1)`