PHY 1200 – FOUNDATION PHYSICS

WORKSHEET 4

1. Usually, people die if their body temperature drops below 35C. There was one case, however, of a two-
year-old girl who had been accidentally locked outside in the winter. She survived, even though her body
temperature dropped as low as 14C. Express this temperature in kelvins and in degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In experiments conducted by the United States Air Force, subjects endured air temperatures of 4.00 
102F. Express this temperature in degrees Celsius and in kelvins.
3. The temperature of the moon’s surface can reach 117C when exposed to the sun and can cool to −163C
when facing away from the sun. Express this temperature change in degrees Fahrenheit.
4. In 1992, the average rate of energy consumption in the United States was about 2.8  109 W. Suppose all of
the copper produced in the United States in 1992 is placed in the giant calorimeter used in the sample
problem. The quantity of energy transferred by heat from the copper to the water is equal to the energy
used in the United States during 1.2 s of 1992. If the initial temperature of the copper is 26.0C, and the
final temperature is 21.0C, what is the mass of the copper?
5. In 1992, a team of firefighters pumped 143  103 kg of water in less than four days. What mass of wood can
be cooled from a temperature of 280.0C to one of 100.0C using this amount of water? Assume that the
initial temperature of the water is 20.0C and that all of the water has a final equilibrium temperature of
100.0C, but that none of the water is vaporized. Use
1.700  103 J/kg•C for the specific heat capacity of wood.
6. One of the nuclear generators at a power plant in Lithuania has a nominal power of 1.450 GW, making it the
most powerful generator in the world. Nippon Steel Corporation in Japan is the world’s largest steel producer.
Between April 1, 1993, and March 31, 1994, Nippon Steel’s mills produced 25.1  109 kg of steel. Suppose this
entire quantity of steel is heated and then placed in the giant calorimeter used in the sample problem. If the
quantity of energy transferred by heat from the steel to the water equals 1.00 percent of all the energy
produced by the Lithuanian generator in a year, what is the temperature change of the steel? Assume that the
specific heat capacities of steel and iron are the same.
7. Lake Superior contains about 1.20  1016 kg of water, whereas Lake Erie contains only 4.8  1014
kg of water. Suppose aliens use these two lakes for cooking. They heat Lake Superior to 100.0C
and freeze Lake Erie to 0.0C. Then they mix the two lakes together to make a “lake shake.” What
would be the final temperature of the mixture? Assume that the entire energy transfer by heat
occurs between the lakes.
8. The lowest temperature measured on the surface of a planetary body in the solar system is that of
Triton, the largest of Neptune’s moons. The surface temperature on this distant moon can reach a
low of −235C. Suppose an astronaut brings a water bottle containing 0.500 kg of water to Triton.
The water’s temperature decreases until the water freezes, then the temperature of the ice
decreases until it is in thermal equilibrium with Triton at a temperature of −235C. If the energy
transferred by heat from the water to Triton is 471 kJ, what is the value of the water’s initial
temperature?
9. Suppose that an ice palace built in Minnesota in 1992 is brought into contact with steam with a
temperature of 100.0C. The temperature and mass of the ice palace are 0.0C and 4.90  106 kg,
respectively. If all of the steam liquefies by the time all of the ice melts, what is the mass of the
steam?
References
Serway, R. A., Faughn, J. S., & McDougal, H. (2012). Holt McDonald Physics. Orlando: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publishing Company