Question

A 20 gram piece of metal is added to a sample of 100 grams of water inside a calorimeter. If the metal is at a temperature of -5° Celsius and the water is at 20° Celsius, which of the following best describes what will occur inside the calorimeter?
 The final temperature of the water will be 15° Celsius. The energy gained by the metal equals the energy lost by the water. The final temperature of the water will be higher than the initial temperature. The temperature lost by the water will equal the temperature gained by the metal

Answer 1

Answer:

The energy gained by the metal equals the energy lost by the water.

Explanation:

The metal is colder than the water, so heat energy will flow rom the water to the metal.  

According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, energy cannot be destroyed or created.  

If the metal gains a certain amount energy, the water must lose the same amount.

We don’t know what the final temperature of the water will be, because we don’t know the specific heat capacity of the metal. However, there is more water than metal and metals don’t have small heat capacities, so the temperature of the water won’t drop very much (maybe 1 °C).

So, the temperature increase of the metal will be much bigger than the temperature decrease of the water.

Certainly, the water will not warn up when the cold metal is added to it.