Asample ofpolystyrene, which has a specific heat capacity of 1.880 j/g k, is put into a calorimeter that contains 100.0 g of water. the polystyrene sample starts off at 89.8 c and the temperature of water starts off at 19.0°c. when the temperature of the water stops changing it is 33.5°c. the pressure remains constant at 1.0 atm. calculate the mass of the polystyrene sample. be sure your answer is rounded to significant digits.

Answer : The mass of the polystyrene sample is 57.3 grams.

Explanation :

In this problem we assumed that heat given by the hot body is equal to the heat taken by the cold body.

where,

= specific heat of polystyrene =

= specific heat of water =

= mass of polystyrene = ?

= mass of water = 100.0 g

= final temperature of system =

= initial temperature of polystyrene =

= initial temperature of water =

Now put all the given values in the above formula, we get

Therefore, the mass of the polystyrene sample is 57.3 grams.