Questions on Internal Energy and Specific Heat Capacities

In summary, the conversation involves questions about specific heat capacities, latent heats, and thermal capacity. The specific heat capacities for water, ice, lead, and copper are given, as well as the specific latent heats of fusion and vaporization for water. The first question asks for the thermal capacity of an object containing specific masses of copper and lead. The second question involves calculating the time and amount of water boiled away in an electric kettle with a given power rating and mass of water. The third question asks for the energy required to remove a molecule of water from boiling water, using the Avogadro constant. The conversation also briefly touches on the relationship between the specific latent heat of vaporization and condensation.
  • #1
Auron87
12
0
I've got a set of questions based on internal energy and specific heat capacities and things. I could just do with a bit of help on some of them. Just a push in the right direction will probably do! Thanks.

Specific heat capacity of water = 4200 J/kg/K
Specific heat capacity of ice = 2100 J/kg/K
Specific heat capacity of lead = 130 J/kg/K
Specific heat capacity of copper = 390 J/kg/K
Specific latent heat of fusion of ice = 330 kJ/kg
Specific latent heat of vaporisation of water = 2.3MJ/kg

1. Calculate the thermal capacity of an object that contains 950g of copper and 700g of lead.

2. An electric kettle is rated as 2.5kW. The thermal capacity of the kettle is negligible and then kettle is filled with 1.2kg of water at 15 degrees C.
Calculate (a) the time taken for the kettle to bring the water to the boil and (b) the mass of the water boiled away in 4 mins.

3. The mass of 1.0 mole of water is 0.018 kg. Estimate the energy required to remove a molecule of water from the surface of boiling water. (Avogadro constant = 6.02 x 10^23 mol^-1).

And also if something is as steam and is condensing to water then wuold the specific latent heat of it be the same as the latent heat of vaporisation of water?

Thanks again!
 
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  • #2
There isn't a whole lot of room to "hint" at these --- you understand the definitions or you don't --- these are "What color was George Washington's white horse?" type questions. One step at a time, and show where you're getting lost.
 
  • #3
Well for question 1 I don't really understand what it means by thermal capacity but what I think I would do is work out the heat capacity by multiplying the specific heat capacity by the mass and then add the two together.
For the 2nd question I think I've done part (a) although I'm not sure that it is correct. This is what I did:
2.5 kW = 2500 J/s
dQ = mc(dT)
= 1.2 x 4200 x 85
= 428400
428400/2500 = 171.36 secs
Part (b) I don't really know where to start with

The 3rd question I am very confused about and again don't really know where to start.
 
  • #4
1) Yup.

2) Good so far. b) Step at a time: decide whether 4 min. is total time, or time elapsed after you get to boiling temp.; then, 4min. or 4 min. - your 171 sec. times burner power equals total energy you've put into vaporizing water.

3) How much water are you evaporating/vaporizing? 1/A moles?

Enthalpy of vaporization is minus enthalpy of condensation, or vice versa.
 

1. What is internal energy?

Internal energy is the sum of all the microscopic kinetic and potential energy of the particles that make up a system. It includes the energy from the movement and vibration of atoms and molecules, as well as the energy stored in chemical bonds.

2. How is internal energy related to temperature?

The temperature of a system is directly related to its internal energy. When the internal energy of a system increases, its temperature also increases. This is because as particles gain more energy, they move faster and collide more frequently, resulting in an increase in temperature.

3. Can internal energy be measured?

Yes, internal energy can be measured using various techniques such as calorimetry, which measures the heat transfer between a system and its surroundings. It can also be calculated using the first law of thermodynamics, which states that the change in internal energy of a system is equal to the heat added to the system minus the work done by the system.

4. What factors affect the internal energy of a system?

The internal energy of a system is affected by several factors, including the temperature, pressure, and composition of the system. Changes in these variables can result in a change in the internal energy of the system.

5. How is internal energy different from enthalpy?

Internal energy and enthalpy are both measures of the energy contained within a system. However, enthalpy also takes into account the energy required to maintain the system at a constant pressure. This is why enthalpy is often used to measure the heat transfer in chemical reactions, while internal energy is used to measure the total energy of a system.

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