If, as a pioneer, you wished to warm your room by taking an object heated on top of a pot-bellied stove to it, which of the following 15-pound objects, each heated to 100°c, would be the best choice? the specific heat capacity (in j/g·k) for each substance is given in parentheses. iron (0.450), copper (0.387), granite (0.79), gold (0.129), water (4.184).

Waterwould be the best choice

Explanation:

The specific heat capacity refers to how much energy is required to raise the temperature of an object. The higher the specific heat capacity, the more energy is required to heat a given substance. This would also mean that with a higher specific heat capacity, a substance would be able to retain more heat.

With the above statements in mind, water would be the best choice, because it would retain more heat than the other substances once it reaches 100 °C, and in turn water would emit the most heat while it cools.

it can be observed without changing the identity of the object.

it depends on what substance you're talking about as well as many other factors. in quantum mechanics, the observation of particles affects the observers ability to measure certain properties. for example: you can know the velocity of a particle, but you can't know it's position; or you can know it's position, but not it's velocity. it's like trying to find out where a grain of sand is by throwing other grains of sand at it. once you find out where it is, it's been moved. it's also like trying to find an answer to the question of whether or not a tree falling in a forest makes a sound if nobody is there to hear it. paradoxically, the only way to find out is to be there and hear it.