Question

A shard of metal releases 244.1 J of heat while cooling 57.1°C. What is the mass of the sample if it has a specific heat of 0.240 J/g°C? Use 1 decimal place.

Answer 1

The heat $Q$ released by the metal with the specific heat $c$ when its temperature change equals $∆T$:

$Q = cm∆T$ ,

where $m$ is the mass of the metal .

Therefore, the mass of the sample is:

$m = \frac{Q}{c∆T}$

$m = \frac{244.1 \text{ J}}{0.240\text{ J /g°C} ·57.1\text{°C}}$

$m = 17.8$ g.

Answer: the mass of the sample of the metal is 17.8 g.