Description
A 28.2g sample of nickel is heated to 99.8ºC & placed in a coffee-cup calorimeter containing 150.0g of water at a temperature of 23.5ºC. After the metal cools, the final temperature of the metal & water is 25.0ºC. Calculate the specific heat capacity of nickel, assuming that no heat escapes to the surroundings or is transferred to the calorimeter.
Explanation & Answer
The 28.2 g sample of Ni cooled from 99.8 to 23.5, a drop of 76.3 deg C. All of the heat was transferred to the 150 g of water which went from 23.5 to 25 deg C, a rise of 1.5 deg C
The specific heat capacity of water is 4.184 J/g degC
150gx1.5deg C = 225 g degC
4.184 x 225 = 941.4 J
sp heat of Ni x 28.2 g x 76.3 deg = 941.4J
sp heat of Ni = 941.4J/(28.2 x 76.3) = 0.438 J/g deg C