The discussion centers on calculating the water equivalent of a calorimeter with a mass of 0.3 kg and a specific heat of 0.2. The equation used is q=cmT, where participants attempted to equate the heat transfer between the calorimeter and water. The correct calculation yields a water equivalent of 0.014 kg, but confusion arises due to the misinterpretation of specific heat and specific gravity, leading to an incorrect expected answer of 0.06 kg. Participants confirm that cancelling out temperature (T) is valid in this context.
PREREQUISITESStudents studying thermodynamics, physics educators, and anyone involved in calorimetry and heat transfer calculations.
That's good. Simplify what you set up, and you're in business.rasen58 said:I wanted to set cmT = cmT for the water and calorimeter
Yes.rasen58 said:Can I cancel out the T's then?
You have met one of many sloppily stated questions you'll run into in your life. "Specific heat" has been conflated with "Specific gravity." Since water has a specific gravity of "One," the author of the question has chosen "One" as the specific heat for water as well. In kcal/kg, yes, but there is no specification of units in the problem statement.rasen58 said:But the answer says it's 0.06 kg