Question

The specific heat for iron is 0.450 J / g * K. A piece of iron increases from 27.2 C to 31.4 C when of energy is added to it. What is the mass of the iron?

Answer 1

To calculate the mass of the iron, we can use the formula for heat transfer:

\[
q = m \cdot c \cdot \Delta T
\]

where:
- \( q \) is the heat energy added (in joules),
- \( m \) is the mass of the substance (in grams),
- \( c \) is the specific heat capacity (in J/g·K),
- \( \Delta T \) is the change in temperature (in degrees Celsius or Kelvin).

From the problem, we have:
- \( c = 0.450 \, J/g \cdot K \)
- Initial temperature \( T_i = 27.2 \, C \)
- Final temperature \( T_f = 31.4 \, C \)

First, we need to calculate the change in temperature (\( \Delta T \)):

\[
\Delta T = T_f - T_i = 31.4 \, C - 27.2 \, C = 4.2 \, C
\]

Now, we can rearrange the formula to solve for mass \( m \):

\[
m = \frac{q}{c \cdot \Delta T}
\]

However, we notice that the value of \( q \) (the amount of energy added) hasn’t been provided in the problem. This means we can't calculate the mass without knowing how much energy was added.

If you provide the value of \( q \), I can help you calculate the mass of the iron.