Question

-You have a sample of unkonw metal that you have heated to 100 deg Celsius (oC) in boilin water. If, unknown to you, the metal sample cools somewhat before being added to your calorimeter, what will be the effect on the delta T for the water in your calorimeter (assume you have a "perfect" calorimeter)? How will this affect the calculated the specific heat of metal (cmetal)? How will this affect the caluclated molar mass of your metal sample?

Answer 1

If the sample is cooler wouldn't you expect delta T to be smaller; that is, the water in the calorimeter will not be heated as much and the final temperature will be smaller than it should be. Now plug that smaller T into the equation to obtain the answers to the other parts of the question.