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Calculate the specific heat of a metal (in calories/gram-degree C) from the following data.
A container made of the metal has a mass of 3.80 kg and contains 16.3 kg of water. A 1.40 kg piece of the same metal,
initially at a temperature of 150 degrees C, is placed in the water.
The container and water initially have a temperature of 15 degrees C, and the final temperature of the entire system is 18 degrees C.
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A balance equation (the balance of thermal energy) is
= . (1)
It says "amount of heat absorbed by the system to raise its temperature from 15°C to 18°C is the same as the amount of heat
lost by the metal piece when it cooled from 150°C to 15°C).
Here is the specific heat of the metal ( in calories/(gram-degree C) ), which is under the question),
is the specific heat of water ( = 1 calorie/(gram-degree C) ).
From (1), express = = 0.282 calorie/(gram-degree C)