Question

A student is given a red and a blue liquid. The two samples of liquids are heated in identical beakers over identical Bunsen burners. The red liquid shows a dramatically faster increase in temperature. Which of these is the most likely explanation for this?

Answer 1

The red beaker has a smaller specific heat

Answer 2

Explanation :

It is given that a student is given a red and a blue liquid. The two samples of liquids are heated in identical beakers over identical Bunsen burners.

It is observed that the red liquid shows a dramatically faster increase in temperature.

This observation can be explained in terms of specific heat. It is defined as the heat required to raise the temperature.

We know that the specific heat of any liquid is given by :

$c=\dfrac{Q}{m\Delta T}$

Where c is the specific heat.

m is the mass of the substance.

Q is the amount of heat.

$\Delta T$ is the change in temperature.

So, it is clear that the specific heat capacity is inversely proportional to the temperature.

The better explanation for this can be the specific heat of the red liquid is less because it drastically increases in temperature.