It is a well-known fact that water has a higher specific heat capacity than iron. Now, consider equal masses of water and iron that are initially in thermal equilibrium. The same amount of heat flow, 300 J, is added to each. Which statement is true?

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Consider the problem setup: equal masses of water and iron start in thermal equilibrium. The same amount of heat, 300 J, is added to each substance. Because water has a higher specific heat capacity (c) than iron, for the same mass m the temperature change ΔT = Q/(m c) will be smaller for water and larger for iron.

Option 1: 'They are no longer in thermal equilibrium; the water is warmer.' This would require water to experience a larger temperature rise than iron, but since water has the larger specific heat, its temperature rise is actually smaller. Therefore this option is inconsistent with the physics.

Option 2: 'They remain in thermal equilibrium.' After adding the same heat to equal masses with different c-values, the two objects reach different final temperatures, so they cannot remain in equilibrium. This option is incorrect.

Option 3: 'They are no longer in thermal equilibrium; the iron is warmer.' Given ΔT_water < ΔT_iron due to water's larger c, the iron ends up warmer than the water. This aligns with the relationship ΔT ∝ 1/c for equal masses, making this option consistent with the concept.

Option 4: 'It is impossible to say without knowing the exact mass involved and the exact specific heat capacities.' Since the problem states equal masses and compares typical specific heat values (water > iron), we can deduce the qualitative outcome without needing the exact numerical masses or values. Therefore this option is not correct in context.

SPHY001 Practice Quiz - Unit 14 | LA054

It is a well-known fact that water has a higher specific heat capacity than iron. Now, consider equal masses of water and iron that are initially in thermal equilibrium. The same amount of heat flow, 300 J, is added to each. Which statement is true?

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