Ice cube melting, solving for Initial Temp of Ice.

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves determining the initial temperature of an ice cube using the principle of conservation of energy. The scenario includes a 0.019 kg ice cube placed in 200 mL of water at 35°C, with the final temperature of the mixture recorded at 22.4°C.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to apply the conservation of energy principle but arrives at an implausible initial temperature for the ice. Some participants question the accuracy of the experimental setup and potential external factors affecting the results.

Discussion Status

Participants are exploring the original poster's calculations and considering possible sources of error in the experiment. There is acknowledgment of the extreme nature of the calculated temperature, and some guidance is offered regarding the experimental conditions.

Contextual Notes

The discussion notes the use of a styrofoam cup for insulation and raises concerns about potential misreadings of the final temperature, as well as the context of the experiment being related to the physics department's freezer.

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Homework Statement



.019 Kg icecube @ unknown temperature (In deg C)
Placed in 200 mL (.2 KG) water at 35 C.
After melting, water is at 22.4 C.
Find initial temperature of ice using conservation of energy.


Homework Equations



I've done the math a ton of times and keep getting -60 C which is completely unreasonable seeing as this was an incube taken out of a standard freezer.

I'm using the equation:

-mC\Delta T_{water}=mC\Delta T_{ice}+mH_{F_{ice}}+mC\Delta T_{water(ice)}

HF= Heat of fusion of water/ice

Plugging in for ΔT, I get:

-mC(T_{F}-T_{I})=mC(T_{F}-T_{I})+mH_{F_{ice}}+mC(T_{F}-T_{I})

-.2(4180)(22.4-35)=.019(2080)(0-T_{I})+.019(3.34*10^{5}+.019(4180)(22.4-0)

T_{I}=-60°C

That can't be correct.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure it's my math somewhere.
 
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I can't spot any errors in what you've done.

If this is data from an actual lab experiment can you identify other sources or sinks of heat energy that might have interfered? For example, what about the container? What was it made of? How was it insulated? How long did the mixture have to sit before taking the final temperature?
 
Agree with the answer. I agree that it sounds extreme but it is not impossible !
It is a 'tiny' piece of ice compared to the mass of water and the temp change is 'quite large'
 
It was a styrofoam cup so it was insulated pretty well. My guess is my labmates misread or interfered with the final temp by accident. We were looking to find the initial temp of the ice and the lab question was to find the temperature of the physics department's freezer so who knows what went wrong. Thanks for the help.
 

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