How much heat does it take to raise the temperature of 2.5 kg of plastic from 15°C to 75°C?

Question

The specific heat of plastic is 2.60 kJ/(kg•°C)

Wyatt Atkins · Accepted Answer

It will take 390 kJ of heat.

The energy #q# required to heat an object is given by the formula #color(blue)(bar(ul(|color(white)(a/a)q = mcΔTcolor(white)(a/a)|)))" "# where #m# is the mass #c# is the specific heat capacity #ΔT# is the change in temperature In your problem, #m = "2.5 kg"# #c = "2.60 kJ·°C"^"-1""kg"^"-1"# #ΔT = T_"f" - T_"i" = "75 °C - 15 °C = 60 °C"# ∴ #q = "2.5" color(red)(cancel(color(black)("kg"))) × "2.60 kJ"·color(red)(cancel(color(black)("°C"^"-1"·"kg"^"-1"))) × "60" color(red)(cancel(color(black)("°C"))) = "390 kJ"#

Serenity Allen · Answer

undefined To calculate the heat required to raise the temperature of a substance, we can use the formula:

Q = mcΔT

Where:
Q = heat energy (in joules)
m = mass of the substance (in kilograms)
c = specific heat capacity of the substance (in joules per kilogram per degree Celsius)
ΔT = change in temperature (in degrees Celsius)

Given:
m = 2.5 kg
ΔT = 75°C - 15°C = 60°C
Assuming the specific heat capacity of plastic is approximately 2000 J/kg°C:

Plugging in the values:
Q = (2.5 kg) * (2000 J/kg°C) * (60°C)

Calculate:
Q = 300,000 joules

Therefore, it takes 300,000 joules of heat energy to raise the temperature of 2.5 kg of plastic from 15°C to 75°C.