Calculating the Specific Heat of Olive Oil

Question:

When 435 J of heat is added to 3.4 g of olive oil that's at 21 Deg C, its temperature increases to 85 Deg C. Calculate the specific heat of Olive oil?

Answer:

To calculate the specific heat of olive oil, we can use the formula:

Q = mcΔT

Where:

Q = Heat energy (435 J)

m = Mass of olive oil (3.4 g)

c = Specific heat capacity of olive oil (to be calculated)

ΔT = Change in temperature (85 Deg C - 21 Deg C = 64 Deg C)

Plugging in the values:

435 J = 3.4 g * c * 64 Deg C

First, let's convert the mass of olive oil from grams to kilograms:

3.4 g = 0.0034 kg

Now, we can solve for the specific heat capacity (c):

c = 435 J / (0.0034 kg * 64 Deg C)

c = 2014.71 J/kg·Deg C

Therefore, the specific heat capacity of olive oil is 2014.71 J/kg·Deg C.

Explanation:

Specific Heat:

Specific heat is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius.

Calculating Specific Heat:

In this scenario, we used the equation Q = mcΔT to calculate the specific heat capacity of olive oil. By rearranging the formula and plugging in the given values, we were able to determine that the specific heat of olive oil is approximately 2014.71 J/kg·Deg C.