Ice cube melting, solving for Initial Temp of Ice.

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around calculating the initial temperature of an ice cube using conservation of energy principles. The user consistently arrives at an initial temperature of -60°C, which seems unreasonable for ice taken from a standard freezer. They detail their calculations involving the heat transfer equations but suspect errors may stem from external factors, such as the container's insulation and potential misreading of the final temperature. The ice's small mass relative to the water's larger mass and significant temperature change could also contribute to the extreme result. Overall, the conversation highlights the complexities of thermal energy calculations and the importance of accurate measurements in experiments.
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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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