Question

Which of the following processes requires more heat energy? Raising the temp. of 100.g of water by 10.0 degrees c or Raising the temp. of 100.g of aluminum by 10.0 degrees c? Write in complete sentences.

Answer 1

It takes more energy to raise the temp of 100 g of water by 10 deg C

Explanation:

We're gonna use the specific heats of each compound to help us out here. The specific heat of water is about 4.18 J/gC, while that of aluminum is about 0.9 J/gC. The specific heat of a compound is defined as the amount of energy it takes to raise one gram of a substance by 1 deg C, so it takes 4.18 J to raise 1 gram of water by 1 deg C, while it takes 0.9 J to raise 1 gram of aluminum by 1 deg C.

Because of this (and the formula `Q=mcDeltaT`) we know that to raise 100g of water by 10 deg C, it would take about 4180 J, while to raise 100 g of aluminum by 10 deg C, it would take about 900 J.

So it takes more energy to raise 100 g of water by 10 deg C.

Hope this helps!