chemistry homework help...?

Question

"Calculate the heat in joules gained by the water."


and i have the equation

q=mc(delta)t


which is supposed to be..

heat = mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature.


I'm not really sure what specific heat capacity is, or which mass I'm supposed to use (i have 2)..?

So if someone can please explain it to me.. That would be wonderful.

Answer 1

Your answer depends on the nature of your problem, so you'll want to give more info if you want a complete answer. The specific heat capacity you use depends on which substance is being heated up or cooled off. The mass will be the mass of the substance that is being heated up or cooled off.

One exception that frequently occurs is when you are dissolving a substance in water. Most problems will assume that the solution has the density and specific heat capacity of pure water. So in other words, if you dissolve 3 grams of ammonium chloride in 100 mL of water and watch the temperature go down, most instructors would want you to use a mass of 100 grams (instead of 103) and the specific heat capacity of water 1.00 cal/g C or 4.184 J/g C if you're working in joules.

Hope this helps...this is the best I can do without more info about the problem.

Answer 2

i cant really answer that because of the mass missing but the specific heat of water is 4.184 lol i just finished that chapter in my chem class hope i helped a tad at least
all you have to do is multiply the specific heat, mass, and final temp. minus the initial temp. and u get ur answer