Question

Five blocks $A,B,C,D$ & $E$ of equal masses but made of different substances as shown in above figure, are heated to ${100}^{\circ }C$ and placed on separate $10kg$ blocks of ice that are at a temperature of $0^{o}C$. Identify which substance melts the greatest amount of ice?

• A. The substance with the lowest specific heat
• B. The substance with the highest specific heat
• C. The substance with the greatest surface area
• D. The substance with the smallest surface area
• E. The substance that started with the highest temperature

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

The substance with the highest specific heat

The heat given $\Delta Q$ to a substance of mass $m$ and specific heat $c$ , to raise its temperature by $\Delta t$ is shown by ,

$\Delta Q=mc\Delta t$ ,

given that the mass and temperature change (${100}^{o}C$) of all the substances (blocks) are equal , therefore we can see from above relation that heat content in the substance , having maximum specific heat will be maximum , because $\Delta Q\propto \Delta t$ , so it melts the greatest amount of ice.