Chemistry Calorimetry Solution: A student constructs a "coffee cup" calorimeter th...

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# Solution: A student constructs a "coffee cup" calorimeter that contains 83.6 grams of water, at 19.7°C, in a double cup set up with a thermometer and a cork cover. A piece of copper with a mass of 101.7 grams was heated to a certain temperature and placed in the calorimeter. Then the calorimeter was allowed to equilibrate and the thermometer recorded a temperature of 28.3 °C after the equilibration. Determine the temperature to which the copper piece was heated initially. (The specific heat of copper is 0.385 J/g °C and the specific heat of water is 4.184 J/g °C)a. 105.1 °Cb. 85.4 °Cc. 142.0 °Cd. 29.0 °Ce. 48.5 °C

Problem

A student constructs a "coffee cup" calorimeter that contains 83.6 grams of water, at 19.7°C, in a double cup set up with a thermometer and a cork cover. A piece of copper with a mass of 101.7 grams was heated to a certain temperature and placed in the calorimeter. Then the calorimeter was allowed to equilibrate and the thermometer recorded a temperature of 28.3 °C after the equilibration. Determine the temperature to which the copper piece was heated initially. (The specific heat of copper is 0.385 J/g °C and the specific heat of water is 4.184 J/g °C)

a. 105.1 °C

b. 85.4 °C

c. 142.0 °C

d. 29.0 °C

e. 48.5 °C

Solution

We’re being asked to determine the temperature at which the copper piece was heated initially.

We will use the heat released by the copper piece to calculate its initial temperature. Recall that heat can be calculated using the following equation:

$\overline{){\mathbf{q}}{\mathbf{=}}{\mathbf{mc}}{\mathbf{∆}}{\mathbf{T}}}$

q = heat, J

+qabsorbs heat
–qloses heat

m = mass (g)
c = specific heat capacity = J/(g·°C)
ΔT = Tf – Ti = (°C)

Based on the given system:

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