A 2.05 g sample of a metal alloy is heated to 98.88°C. It is then dropped into 28.0 g water in a calorimeter.

Question

1) A 2.05 g sample of a metal alloy is heated to 98.88°C. It is then dropped into 28.0 g water in a calorimeter. The water temperature rises from 19.73°C to 22.00°C. Calculate the specific heat of the alloy.

2) A piece of stainless steel (specific heat = 0.50 J/g°C) is taken from an oven at 168°C and immersed in 215 mL of water at 25.9°C. The water temperature rises to 42.4°C. What is the mass of the piece of steel?

Answer 1

Please practice algebra!
1) Assume the specific heat of the alloy to be S (cal/g°C):
2.05*S*(98.88 - 22.00) = 28.0*1*(22.00 - 19.73)
Thus S = 0.403 (cal/g°C).

2) Assume the mass of the piece of steel is X grams.
X*0.50*(168-42.4) = 215*4.182*(42.4-25.9)
So the mass of the piece of steel is 236 grams