Name___________________
Period___________
Specific Heat Problems:
1. When a 50.0 g piece of nickel absorbs 350.0 J of heat, the temperature of the nickel
changes from 20.0 deg C to 36 deg C. What is the specific heat of nickel?
2. Solar homes often use granite of water to absorb heat from the sun by day. This heat is
released into the house at night. If the temperature of 1000 kg of granite (specific heat
= 0.803 J/g deg C) was raised 10 deg C in one house, and the temperature of 1000 kg
water (4.18 J/g deg C) was raised 10 deg C in another house, which house absorbed
more heat? Explain your answer.
3. How much energy is required to heat an iron nail with a mass of 7 g from 25 deg C until
it becomes red hot at 750 deg C? (specific heat of iron = 0.448 J/g deg C)?
4. If 5750 J of energy are added to a 455 g piece of granite at 24 deg c, what is the final
temperature of the granite (specific heat of granite = 0.803 J/g deg C)
5. A 30 g sample of an unknown metal is heated from 22 deg c to 59.2 deg C. During the
process 1.00 kJ of energy is absorbed by the metal. What is the specific heat of the
metal?
Name___________________
Period___________
6. A 25 g sample of metal at 75 deg C is placed in a calorimeter containing 25 g of water at
20 deg C. The temperature stopped changing at 29.4 deg c. What is the specific heat of
the metal. Specific heat of water = 4.18 J/g deg C (hint: Assume that all of the energy
given off by the metal is used to raise the temp of the water)
7. Suppose that 100.00 g of water at 22.4 deg C is placed in a calorimeter. A 75.25 g
sample of aluminum is removed from water at a temperature of 99.3 deg C and quickly
placed in the calorimeter. Both substances (metal and water) reach a final temperature
of 32.9 deg c. What is the specific heat of aluminum? Specific heat of water is
4.18 J/g deg C (again, assume that the heat lost by the metal is equal to that gained by
the water).
8. Calculate the quantity of heat that must be removed from 200 g of ethanol to cool it
from 25 deg C to 10 deg C. (specific heat of ethanol = 2.45 J/g deg C).