When 45 g of an alloy, at 25oC, are dropped into 100.0 g of water, the alloy absorbs 956 J of heat. If the final temperature of the alloy is 37oC, what is its specific heat?

The answer to the question is

The specific heat capacity of the alloy = 1.77 J/(g·°C)

Explanation:

To solve this, we list out the given variables thus

Mass of alloy = 45 g

Initial temperature of the alloy = 25 °C

Final temperature of the alloy = 37 °C

Heat absorbed by the alloy = 956 J

Thus we have

ΔH = m·c·(T₂ - T₁) where  ΔH = heat absorbed by the alloy = 956 J, c = specific heat capacity of the alloy and T₁ = Initial temperature of the alloy = 25 °C , T₂ = Final temperature of the alloy = 37 °C  and m = mass of the alloy = 45 g

∴ 956 J = 45 × C × (37 - 25) = 540 g·°C×c  or

c = 956 J/(540 g·°C) = 1.77 J/(g·°C)

The specific heat capacity of the alloy is 1.77 J/(g·°C)

water and alcohols have similar properties because water molecules contain hydroxyl groups that can form hydrogen bonds with other water molecules and with alcohol molecules, and likewise alcohol molecules can form hydrogen bonds with other alcohol molecules as well as with water.