Question

Use the table below to answer the questions.

Substance	Specific Heat (J/g °C)
Aluminum	0.900
Magnesium	1.020
Gold	0.129
Water	4.18

a) Write 2-3 sentences to describe whether it takes more energy to raise the temperature by one degree of a 1-g piece of gold or a 1-g piece of magnesium. Explain your reasoning.

b) Identify the heat that is lost when 5.6 g of aluminum at 65.2 °C is cooled to 24.7 °C.

c) If 5.6 g of aluminum at 65.2 °C is placed in a calorimeter that contains water at 23.5 °C and the temperature of the water after the heat exchange occurs is 24.7 °C, then identify how much water is in the calorimeter.

Answer 1

Specific Heat is the amount of heat required per unit mass to raise the temperature of the substance by 1°C.

a) As given above, specific heat of Magnesium is more than specific heat of Gold. Therefore more energy is required to raise the temperature of Magnesium by 1°C than Gold. It requires 1.020 J energy to raide the temperature of Magnesium by 1°C which is more than 0.129 J, which is the energy required for Gold.