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It's possible to boil water by adding hot rocks to it, a technique that has been used in many societies over time. If you heat a rock in the fire, you can easily get it to a temperature of \(500^{\circ} \mathrm{C} .\) If you use granite or other similar stones, the specific heat is about \(800 \mathrm{J} / \mathrm{kg} \cdot \mathrm{K}\). If \(5.0 \mathrm{kg}\) of water at \(10^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) is in a leak-proof vessel, what minimum number of \(1.0 \mathrm{kg}\) stones must be added to bring the water to a boil?

Short Answer

Expert verified
In order to get the final numerical answer, fill in the numerical values calculated in previous steps into the formula for the number of stones and perform the division.

Step by step solution

01

Calculate the heat required to boil the water

First, we will calculate the heat needed to raise the temperature of water from 10 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius (the boiling point of water). The formula \(Q = mc\Delta T\) is used, where Q is the heat transferred, m is the mass (5.0 kg for water), c is the specific heat (approximately 4200 J/kg.K for water), and \(\Delta T\) is the change in temperature (100 - 10 = 90 degrees Celsius). Thus, \(Q_{water} = 5.0 kg * 4200 J/kg.K * 90 K\).
02

Calculate the heat transferred by each stone

Next, we calculate the heat lost by a single 1 kg stone from 500 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius. Using the same formula, \(Q = mc\Delta T\), where m is the mass (1 kg for the stone), c is the specific heat (approximately 800 J/kg.K for stone), and \(\Delta T\) is the change in temperature (500 - 100 = 400 degrees Celsius), we find \(Q_{stone} = 1 kg * 800 J/kg.K * 400 K\).
03

Find number of stones

Finally, the number of stones needed to provide the required heat to the water is obtained by dividing the total heat required by the water by the heat provided by each stone, that is, Number of stones = \(Q_{water} / Q_{stone}\).

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Heat Transfer
Heat transfer is the process by which thermal energy moves from a hotter object to a cooler one. Heat always flows in this direction naturally, which is why in the exercise, hot rocks can be used to boil water. There are three primary methods of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation.

Conduction occurs when heat is transferred through direct contact, as between the hot rocks and water in the exercise.
Convection involves the movement of heat through fluids, like water, as warmer areas rise and cooler areas sink.
Radiation is the transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves, which is less relevant to this scenario.

In the exercise, the heat from the rocks is conducted into the water, raising its temperature. This process continues until thermal equilibrium is achieved, meaning the temperature of the rocks and water equalizes.
Specific Heat Capacity
Specific heat capacity is a property of matter that tells us how much heat is needed to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius (or Kelvin). Different materials have different specific heat capacities.

The formula to calculate the heat transferred is: \[ Q = mc\Delta T \]where:
  • \(Q\) is the heat transferred,
  • \(m\) is the mass,
  • \(c\) is the specific heat capacity,
  • \(\Delta T\) is the change in temperature.


In the exercise, the specific heat capacity of water is given as approximately 4200 J/kgâ‹…K and for granite stones, it is 800 J/kgâ‹…K. This means water requires more energy to increase in temperature than granite stones do for the same mass. Knowing the specific heat capacity is crucial in calculating how much heat energy is involved in heating substances.
Temperature Change
Temperature change can influence many physical properties and processes, and it is a core aspect of thermodynamics. In our case, calculating how much the temperature changes is vital to deciding how much energy is needed or will be exchanged.

When dealing with heat transfer as in our exercise, the temperature change (\(\Delta T\)) is the difference between the final and initial temperature. For water, it's from 10°C to 100°C; and for rocks, from 500°C down to 100°C.

This change allows us to compute the amount of energy required or released using the formula \( Q = mc\Delta T \). Temperature change is a direct indicator of the thermal energy involved in boiling the water.
Energy Conservation
Energy conservation, a principal law of physics, states that energy cannot be created or destroyed--only transformed from one form to another. When considering heat transfer, this means the total energy in a closed system must remain constant.

In the boiling water exercise, the energy lost by the hot rocks must equal the energy gained by the water if there is no loss to the environment.
  • The heat energy lost by the rocks as they cool down is transferred to the water.
  • This raises the water’s temperature until it reaches its boiling point.
  • If any energy is lost to the surroundings, more rocks would be needed.


Understanding energy conservation allows us to calculate the number of rocks required to boil water, assuming perfect transfer efficiency.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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