A72.0-gram piece of metal at 96.0 °c is placed in 130.0 g of water in a calorimeter at 25.5 °c. the final temperature in the calorimeter is 31.0 °c. determine the specific heat of the metal. show your work by listing various steps, and explain how the law of conservation of energy applies to this situation.

The specific heat of the metal,  S = 0.1528 cal/g °C.

Explanation:

Given that, A 72.0-gram piece of metal at 96.0 °C is placed in 130.0 g of water in a calorimeter at 25.5 °C.

And the final temperature in the calorimeter is 31.0 °C.

By law of conservation of energy, energy is neither created nor destroyed.

So, energy lost by metal piece is equal to energy gained by water in calorimeter.

Specific heat of water is 1 cal/g °C

⇒ heat energy  Q = mSΔT , where m = mass of substance

                                                         S = specific heat

                                                         ΔT = change in temperature

Now, heat lost by metal piece, Q = 72×S×(96-31)

                                                       = 4680×S cal

Heat gained by water, Q = 130×1×(31-25.5)

                                         = 715 cal

⇒ 4680×S = 715.

⇒ S = 0.1528 cal/g °C.

explanation:

metals have excess of electrons whereas non-metals have deficiency of electrons. thus, in order to gain stability metals easily donate their electrons to the non-metals.

for example, electronic configuration of sodium is and electronic configuration of phosphorous is .

when a phosphorous atom and sodium atom combine together then sodium will donate is extra one electron to the phosphorous atom. as a result there will be formation of ionic bond between sodium and phosphorous.

the reaction will be as follows.

there, are three sodium sodium atoms and each of them will donate its one extra electron to phosphorous atom. thus, the sub-shell of phosphorous gets completely filled.  

thus, we can conclude that electrons are transferred from atoms of sodium to atoms of phosphorous. this transfer makes the sodium atoms donate one electron and the phosphorous atoms to gain one electron. as a result, the sodium and phosphorus atoms strongly attract each other.

the answer would be c