Home Physics Thermodynamics Mix A student wants to find the specific heat of…
Physics Thermodynamics Mix Numeric Response
Published on: September 12, 2026

A student wants to find the specific heat of a dark oil. She pours 100 grams of the oil into a glass beaker of negligible mass, and then submerges a small 50-watt light bulb in the oil. (A watt is a joule per second.) Before the student turns on the light bulb, the oil is at 20° C, room temperature. The student then seals the top of the beaker and turns on the light bulb, at time t = 0. She can see some light coming from the bulb, though it looks much dimmer than usual. A small magnetic stirrer ensures that the oil has a uniform temperature throughout the beaker, at all times. A thermometer keeps track of the oil’s temperature. See figure.

After the light bulb has been on for 40 seconds, the student switches it off. The oil’s temperature at that moment is 30° C. The student immediately unseals the top of the beaker and removes the light bulb.

When the top of the beaker is sealed, assume that negligible heat is absorbed by the beaker or escapes into the environment.

(i) Which of these graphs best shows the temperature of the oil as a function of time?

A
A 0.05 40ºC
B
B 0.5 50ºC
C
C 0.7 60ºC
D
D (ii) If the oil absorbed almost all the energy emitted by the light bulb, the specific heat of the oil, in joules per gram per Celsius degree, is approximately 0.2 (iii) Starting again from room temperature, the experiment is repeated. But this time, the student uses a 100-watt light bulb, and leaves it on for 60 seconds. The temperature of the oil after those 60 seconds will be about: 90ºC

Share this question

For Instagram sharing, use “Apps” on mobile or copy the link.

Text Solution

Verified by Experts
The correct answer is:
0.2

Ans.

(i)

Sol.

(ii)

Sol. 0.2

(iii)

Sol. 50 0 C

Prepare Smarter with CGP Edu

Get practice questions, solutions, and test series in one place.

Write a Review

Share your experience with this question and solution.

Commentary

Send your comment, doubt, correction, or feedback to admin.

Student Reviews

What students say about this solution

No reviews yet. Be the first to write a review.

Similar Questions

Explore conceptually related problems

CG
CGP Question Assistant Question Bank + AI Help
Hi! Type your question or upload one screenshot. First I will search related questions from CGP Edu Question Bank. If none match, type YES and I will solve it with AI.
Upload only one screenshot at a time. Flow: Question Bank first → If not matched, type YES for AI solution.