Question

A of iron bar cools from to . Calculate the amount of heat released by

the iron metal in kilojoules.

Solution:

Concepts and reason

This question is based on specific heat and heat capacity of a substance. For any chemical
reaction, the amount of heat released or absorbed by a substance during any process is
calculated by knowing the amount, specific heat of that substance and the change in
temperature value of that substance.

Fundamentals

For any substance the quantity of heat needed to increase temperature of of substance
by is called specific heat, . The unit for is and it is an intensive
property. Whereas the quantity of heat needed to increase temperature of given amount of
substance by is termed as heat capacity, . Its unit is and it is extensive
property.

With help of , mass of substance and temperature change the heat released or absorbed
during process is given as follows,

Here, is mass of substance, is substance’s specific heat and is temperature

change value.

The unit conversion factor is nothing but the ratio between two equivalent quantities
stated with different units of measurement. For example, and are equivalent
and the respective conversion factor is as follows,

To find: The amount of heat released from cooling of given hot bar.

Formula used:

The formula needed to determine temperature change is

.

The respective equation to calculate heat released is .

The conversion factor required to change value in to is .

Explanation:

Given:

Mass of substance, is
Iron bar cools from to

Step :

Determine the .

Explanation:

First determine temperature change value by subtracting given initial temperature from
given final temperature.

Common mistakes:

Don’t subtract final temperature from initial temperature.

Step :

Calculate released heat energy value.

Explanation:

Now, calculate the respective released heat energy from the given hot iron bar. The
specific heat, value of iron is . Substitute the respective value into
equation .

The negative sign in above determined value proves that heat energy is released from the
iron bar.

Common mistakes:
Ensure the correct specific heat value of given metal is used.

Step :

Determine the value in

Explanation:

Finally convert the energy released value obtained in to . By using conversion

factor, .

Therefore, the total amount of heat released is .

Common mistakes:

Ensure that should present only at the denominator.

Hint:

Here, the mass of the metal varies from to , initial temperature changes from
to and the final temperature value changes from to .