Formic acid when in water would dissociate into ions just like any acids. It would dissociate into the hydrogen ion and the formate ion. The equilibrium dissociation equation would be written as:
<span>HCOOH (aq) + H2O (l) ⇌ H+ (aq) + HCOO- (aq)
Formic acid is a weak acid which means that when in aqueous solution it does not completely dissociate into its corresponding ions. Only a certain amount that would be dissociated so in the solution there will be HCOOH, HCOO- and H+ molecules. It is also known as Methanoic acid and an important substance for the synthesis of a number of substances. It is naturally occurring in ants.</span>
You are correct, but you needn't worry about the signs so much. Just remember that the negative sign is used to denote a loss of energy; since the water is hotter, it will be losing energy (-Q) and the iron will gain energy (Q). Now, we substitute the values:
-149.3 * 4.184 * (T - 95) = 412 * 0.44 * (T - 5)
Solving this equation for T,
T = 74.8 °C
