Question

A 235.0 g metal block absorbs 2.44 × 103 J of heat to raise its temperature by 35 K. What is the specific heat of the metal? Show your work.

Answer 1

When an object absorbs an amount of energy equal to Q, its temperature raises by $\Delta T$ following the formula
$Q=m C_s \Delta T$
where m is the mass of the object and $C_s$ is the specific heat capacity of the material.

In our problem, we have $Q=2.44 \cdot 10^3 J$, $m=235.0 g$ and $\Delta T=35 K$, so we can re-arrange the formula and substitute the numbers to find the specific heat capacity of the metal:
$C_s = \frac{Q}{m \Delta T}= \frac{2.44 \cdot 10^3 J}{(235.0 g)(35 K)}=0.297 J g^{-1} K^{-1}$