Heat and final temperature problem

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves determining the final temperature of a cup of coffee after a certain mass of water evaporates. The coffee is initially at 90.0°C, and the scenario assumes negligible heat transfer with the environment due to the Styrofoam cup. The discussion revolves around the principles of heat transfer and phase changes, particularly focusing on the heat of vaporization and specific heat capacity of water.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the application of the heat equation Q = mcΔT and the implications of phase change on its use. There are attempts to set up heat equations to relate the heat lost by the coffee to the heat gained by the evaporated water. Questions arise about the heat of vaporization and how to incorporate it into the calculations.

Discussion Status

Several participants are exploring different setups for the heat equations, with some expressing uncertainty about the correct application of the equations due to the phase change involved. There is an ongoing examination of the conservation of energy principle in the context of the problem, with some guidance provided regarding the need to account for the latent heat of vaporization.

Contextual Notes

The problem is constrained by the assumption of an adiabatic system, as indicated by the use of a Styrofoam cup, which limits heat transfer to the surroundings. This assumption is central to the discussion and affects how participants approach the problem.

narutoish
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Homework Statement



The "steam" above a freshly made cup of instant coffee is really water vapor droplets condensing after evaporating from the hot coffee. What is the final temperature of 290 g of hot coffee initially at 90.0°C if 1.50 g evaporates from it? The coffee is in a Styrofoam cup, and so other methods of heat transfer can be neglected. Assume that coffee has the same physical properties as water.

Homework Equations



Q = mcΔT that's the only equation that i saw fit, but i don't know how to utilize it in this situation

The Attempt at a Solution



the answer is 87.2

i tried writing two heat equations like (290g)(Tf- 900C) = (1.50)(100)
but i don't know if that's right. please point me in the right direction

thanks
 
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Some of the water is evaporated as a result of adding energy to the cup+water system. So you can think of energy Q = cmΔT entering the system, and the mass of water that evaporates carries Q' out of the system. Find what this Q' is and express the above mathematically.
 
What is the heat of vaporization of water in cal/gm? What is the heat capacity of liquid water in cal/(gm-C)? How much heat is required to evaporate 1.5 gm of water?

Chet
 
So I set the heat equation up like this Q = (1.50g)(4.184)(-10 0C ) and find Q to be -62.76.

Then I set that Q equal to the other heat equation like : -62.76 = (288.5g)(4.184)(Tf-90) but that gives me 89.9 , am I going in the right direction?
 
narutoish said:
So I set the heat equation up like this Q = (1.50g)(4.184)(-10 0C ) and find Q to be -62.76.

Then I set that Q equal to the other heat equation like : -62.76 = (288.5g)(4.184)(Tf-90) but that gives me 89.9 , am I going in the right direction?
No. Your first equation is wrong. You should be multiplying the 1.5 g by the heat of vaporization of water.

Chet
 
Thanks I got it now. But is reason I couldn't use the Q =mcT equation because of the phase change?

Thanks Chet
 
narutoish said:
Thanks I got it now. But is reason I couldn't use the Q =mcT equation because of the phase change?
Yes.
 
Hi Chestermiller,

I was just wondering about the physical reasoning for setting those two equations equal to each other. If we consider the cup+water as the system, then energy Q1(=cwmw(90-To) enters the system to get it to the temperature of 90 degrees C. The energy of the cup+water system is then conserved if there are no other heat transfers or work done upon it. So by conservation of energy, we have Q1 = cwm1(Tf-90) + m2Lv, where cw = specific heat of water, m1 = mass of water left in cup, m2 = mass evaporated and Lv = latent heat of vaporization.

The differential (wrt time) of the LHS is zero, so the differential of the RHS must be zero. How would I show from this that cwm1(Tf-90) = - m2Lv follows?

Thanks.
 
CAF123 said:
Hi Chestermiller,

I was just wondering about the physical reasoning for setting those two equations equal to each other. If we consider the cup+water as the system, then energy Q1(=cwmw(90-To) enters the system to get it to the temperature of 90 degrees C. The energy of the cup+water system is then conserved if there are no other heat transfers or work done upon it. So by conservation of energy, we have Q1 = cwm1(Tf-90) + m2Lv, where cw = specific heat of water, m1 = mass of water left in cup, m2 = mass evaporated and Lv = latent heat of vaporization.

The differential (wrt time) of the LHS is zero, so the differential of the RHS must be zero. How would I show from this that cwm1(Tf-90) = - m2Lv follows?

Thanks.

Hi CAF123. I think my understanding for the problem statement is different from yours. The problem statement says that the coffee starts off at 90C, and that the coffee cup is adiabatic: "The coffee is in a Styrofoam cup, and so other methods of heat transfer can be neglected."

So, what I get out of this is that Q = 0. So, cwm1(Tf-90) + m2Lv =0.

Hope this makes some sense.

Chet
 

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