Post Lab Questions 1) Aluminum has a very high specific heat-one of the highest
ID: 554996 • Letter: P
Question
Post Lab Questions 1) Aluminum has a very high specific heat-one of the highest of any metals. Using your knowledge about what specific heat is, try to explain why aluminum is used often in cooking- like wrapping casseroles to keep them warm. 2) Lead is the opposite of aluminum- It has the one of the lowest specific heats of any metal. Lead is often used in industrial applications, like boilers and pipes. Explain why 3) Steel has a specific heat of 0.45 1/g°C. Carbon steel has a specific heat of 0.501/g Recently,two 4-ton statues have been commissioned at Mott, one of Professor Hange, made in steel, and one of Dr. Stamper, made in Carbon Steel. On a sunny day at high noon both statues have absorbed the same amount of heat from the sun. Which statue would feel warmer to the touch? Why?Explanation / Answer
Q1.
The fact that specific heat of Aluminium is high (0.9 J/gC) impliest that we need much more heat in order to change 1°C
Recall that as T increases, the rate of heat transfer increases, therefore, we want to avoid this.
Then, speicif heat of aluminium is ideal for "adiabatic" system, i.e. trying to "maintain" the heat of our food
Q2
We will favour low specific heat when we want to transfer heat at faster rates, which is the cas eof the industrial applicaitons.
For istance, a heat exchanger or boiler, we want the tubes/piping to be smallest and lower in specific heat, in order to avoid heat loss
Q3.
We feel "warmer" what we actually feel as "heat transfer"
therefore, the faster rate, the "cooler/warmer" we feel it
Therefore, we will feel the low specific heat value to be "warmer" to the touch
Also, the sunrays have similar heat, therefore, the steel will have higher temperature due to the low Cp value