A gardener uses an electric heating mat to warm damp soil in a metal tray. The soil and the tray are initially at the same temperature and remain at the same temperature as each other.
| Quantity | Value |
|---|---|
| power of heating mat | 120 W |
| heating time | 900 s |
| mass of damp soil | 3.0 kg |
| initial temperature | 12 ∘C12\ ^\circ\mathrm{C}12 ∘C |
| final temperature | 32 ∘C32\ ^\circ\mathrm{C}32 ∘C |
| average rate of energy transfer to the surroundings | 20 W |
| mass of metal tray | 0.75 kg |
| specific heat capacity of metal tray | 800 J kg−1 ∘C−1800\ \mathrm{J\,kg^{-1}\,{}^\circ C^{-1}}800 Jkg−1∘C−1 |
Calculate the specific heat capacity of the damp soil.
110 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Physics 14.2 Specific heat capacity and latent heat, covering 14.2.1 Heating, temperature and changes of state, 14.2.2 Specific heat capacity and specific latent heat, 14.2.3 Specific heat capacity calculation, 14.2.4 Specific latent heat calculation, and 14.2.5 Reducing energy transfer through thermal insulation. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.