Calculate the change in temperature when 7.90 x 10⁴ J (the same amount of heat to boil a cup of water) of heat are added to a 250 gram sample of gold.

Answer.

We can obtain the specific heat of gold from the table in our lecture notes. It is 0.129 J ­ g^-1 ­ °C^-1. Using the relationship,

we need to rearrange to solve for temperature,

Substituting,

Now this is interesting. The same amount of heat required to boil 250 grams of water translates to a temperature change of 2450 °C. The boiling point of gold is 1064 ÐC. So adding this amount of heat will change the 250 gram sample of gold into vapor!