Can someone please explain how to solve this problem. Thank you very much.
A chunk of silver has a heat capacity of 42.8 J/degrees C. If the silver has a mass of 181 grams, calculate the specific heat of silver.
Heat capacity is 42.8 J/C for 181 g. What you want is for 1 g. So----
42.8/181 = ?? J/g*C
Check my thinking.
So does the specific heat of silver equal 0.23?
so does the specific heat of silver equal 0.23?
Approximately, yes. You are allowed one more place in the answer. Since there are three significant figures in both 42.8 and 181, you are allowed three in the answer. Therefore, 0.236 J/g*C would be a better answer.
To solve this problem, we need to understand the concept of heat capacity and specific heat.
Heat capacity is the amount of heat energy required to change the temperature of an object by one degree Celsius. It is measured in joules per degree Celsius (J/°C).
Specific heat, on the other hand, is the amount of heat energy required to change the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius. It is also measured in joules per gram per degree Celsius (J/g/°C).
In this problem, we are given the heat capacity of the silver, which is 42.8 J/°C. We also know that the mass of the silver is 181 grams.
To calculate the specific heat of silver, we need to divide the heat capacity by the mass of the silver.
So, the specific heat of silver can be calculated as follows:
specific heat = heat capacity / mass
specific heat = 42.8 J/°C / 181 g
Now, we can perform the calculation:
specific heat = 0.236 J/g/°C
Therefore, the specific heat of silver is approximately 0.236 J/g/°C.