A kilogram of aluminum metal and a kilogram of water are each warmed to 75 oC and placed in two identical insulated containers. One hour later, the two containers are opened and the temperature of each substance is measured. The aluminum has cooled to 35 oC while the water has cooled to only 66 oC. Explain this difference.
How much heat is in each?
q = mass x specific heat x T
Calculate to see how much heat is in each. The water has MUCH more heat; therefore, the temperature drops less.
The difference in cooling temperatures between the aluminum metal and water can be explained by their respective specific heat capacities. Specific heat capacity is a measure of how much heat energy is needed to change the temperature of a substance.
Aluminum has a lower specific heat capacity compared to water. This means that it requires less heat energy for aluminum to heat up or cool down compared to water. In other words, aluminum has a lower capacity to retain heat energy.
So, when the aluminum and water are both warmed to 75 oC and placed in insulated containers, they start to lose heat energy to the surrounding environment. As time passes, the aluminum cools down more rapidly than water because it can easily transfer the heat energy to the surroundings.
On the other hand, water has a higher specific heat capacity, which means it can retain more heat energy. As a result, the water takes longer to cool down compared to aluminum. Therefore, after one hour, the water temperature is still relatively high at 66 oC, while the aluminum has cooled down to 35 oC.
In summary, the difference in cooling temperatures between the aluminum and water is due to their different specific heat capacities. Aluminum has a lower capacity to retain heat energy, causing it to cool down more quickly compared to water with a higher heat capacity.
The difference in cooling temperatures between the aluminum and water can be explained by their different specific heat capacities.
Specific heat capacity is a measure of how much heat energy is required to raise the temperature of a substance by a certain amount. Different substances have different specific heat capacities due to variations in their molecular structure and composition.
In this case, aluminum has a lower specific heat capacity compared to water. This means that it requires less heat energy to raise the temperature of aluminum by a certain amount compared to water.
When both the aluminum and water are warmed to 75 °C, they both absorb the same amount of heat energy. However, when the containers are opened after one hour, the aluminum has cooled to 35 °C, while the water has cooled to only 66 °C.
The reason for this difference is that water has a higher specific heat capacity compared to aluminum. It can retain and store more heat energy per unit mass compared to aluminum. Therefore, even though both substances started at the same temperature and absorbed the same amount of heat energy, water takes longer to release that heat energy and cool down compared to aluminum.
In simpler terms, water holds onto heat energy better than aluminum. It takes more time for water to transfer heat energy to its surroundings and reach a lower temperature, while aluminum releases heat energy more quickly, causing it to cool down faster.
This difference in specific heat capacities is why we see the variation in cooling temperatures between the aluminum and water in the given scenario.