You drop a hot copper penny (500 degrees celsius) that has a mass of 4.5 grams into a glass of cold water (6.0 degrees celsius) with a volume of 120 mL. The water heats up to 7.7 degrees celsius. Find the heat absorbed by the water, then determine the specific heat of copper. Give your answer in correct sig figs.

Question

You drop a hot copper penny (500 degrees celsius) that has a mass of 4.5 grams into a glass of cold water (6.0 degrees celsius) with a volume of 120 mL.  The water heats up to 7.7 degrees celsius.  Find the heat absorbed by the water, then determine the specific heat of copper.  Give your answer in correct sig figs.

DrBob222 · Answer

q1 = heat absorbed by water = mass H2O x specific heat H2O x delta T.

For part 2, I believe it's best to do it all in one.
heat lost by Cu + heat gained by water = 0
heat lost by Cu = mass Cu x specific heat Cu x delta T.
heat gained by water = done in part 1.
one unknown, specific heat Cu. Solve for that. Post your work if you need additional help.