Question

In the lab, an experimenter mixes 9.0 g of water (initially at 23.4°C) with 80 g of a solid metal (initially at 350°C). At thermal equilibrium, he measures a final temp of 55.4°C. What must the specific heat of the metal be?

Answer 1

heat lost by metal + heat gained by water = 0

[mass metal x specific heat metal x (Tfinal-Tinitial)] + [mass H2O x specific heat H2O x (Tfinal-Tinitial)] = 0
Substitute and solve for the only unknown in the set up.