A Chemist Calculates Specific Heat Capacity of a Substance

Calculating Specific Heat Capacity

A chemist carefully measures the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a 545.0 g sample of a pure substance from 2.3°C to 15.6°C. The experiment shows that 5.15 kJ of heat are needed. What can the chemist report for the specific heat capacity of the substance?

Final answer:

The chemist can report a specific heat capacity of 0.0200 kJ/(g°C) for the substance.

Explanation:

The specific heat capacity of a substance is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of the substance by one degree Celsius. In this case, the chemist measured that 5.15 kJ of heat is required to raise the temperature of a 545.0 g sample of the substance from 2.3°C to 15.6°C. To calculate the specific heat capacity, we can use the formula: specific heat capacity = heat energy / (mass * change in temperature).

Plugging in the values given: specific heat capacity = (5.15 kJ) / (545.0 g * (15.6°C - 2.3°C)).

The calculated specific heat capacity of the substance would depend on the significant digits required in the answer. If we use the given heat energy to three significant digits, the specific heat capacity would be 0.0200 kJ/(g°C).