Question

An electric current heats a 250 gram sample of copper wire from 20°C to 45°C. How much heat was generated by the electric current? The specific heat capacity of copper is 0.093 cal/g•°C.

Answer 1

Given:

The mass of the copper sample is,

$m=250\text{ g}$

The initial temperature is,

$t_i=20\text{ }\degree C$

The final temperature is

$t_f=45\text{ }\degree C$

The specific heat capacity of copper is,

$c=0.093\text{ cal/g.}\degree C$

To find:

The heat generated by the electric current

Explanation:

The heat generated by an electric current is,

$H=mc\Delta t$

Here, the temperature difference is,

$\begin{gathered} \Delta t=45-20 \\ =25\text{ }\degree C \end{gathered}$

Substituting the values we get,

$\begin{gathered} H=250\times0.093\times25 \\ =581.25\text{ cal} \end{gathered}$

Hence, the required amount of heat is 581.25 cal.