## Midterm Question

$\Delta U=q+w$

Hailey Johnson
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2016 3:04 am

### Midterm Question

On part b of question 3 on the midterm, why do we use specific heat capacity to determine which pot is more energy efficient instead of the molar heat capacity?

Hailey Johnson
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2016 3:04 am

### Re: Midterm Question

Also, in part a, why do we have to use the temperature in degrees Celsius instead of K? I know the total heat is different when I use temperature in Kelvin, but the percent of heat used to heat the water is the same, so, does it matter which form of temperature I use?

Pooja Nair 1C
Posts: 55
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 3:00 am

### Re: Midterm Question

You use specific heat capacity because they state that all the masses of the pots are the same. lf you were to compare molar heat capacity, you would have to calculate moles and then standardize it/divide by the lowest to have a comparable scale. It's easier to compare by specific heat capacity because you are comparing 1 g to 1 g. In part a you have to use celsius for the calculation of q pot, because the specific heats of the metal are given in J*C*(g^-1), but as for the water, the change in temperature in units of Celsius vs. in units of Kelvin is the same, so you don't have to convert for that. Hope this helped!