Concept:
According to the Principle of Calorimetry, when two bodies at different temperatures are placed in contact, the heat lost by the hot body is equal to the heat gained by the cold body, provided no heat is lost to the surroundings.
Step 1: Identify the parameters
• For Metal (Hot body):
• Mass ($m_m$) = 100 g = 0.1 kg
• Initial Temperature ($T_m$) = 80°C
• Final Temperature ($T_f$) = 40°C
• Specific heat ($s_m$) = ?
• For Water (Cold body):
• Mass ($m_w$) = 100 g = 0.1 kg
• Initial Temperature ($T_w$) = 20°C
• Final Temperature ($T_f$) = 40°C
• Specific heat of water ($s_w$) = 4200 J/kgK (Standard value)
Step 2: Apply the heat balance equation.
\[ \text{Heat Lost by Metal} = \text{Heat Gained by Water} \]
\[ m_m \cdot s_m \cdot (T_m - T_f) = m_w \cdot s_w \cdot (T_f - T_w) \]
Substituting the values:
\[ 0.1 \cdot s_m \cdot (80 - 40) = 0.1 \cdot 4200 \cdot (40 - 20) \]
\[ s_m \cdot 40 = 4200 \cdot 20 \]
Step 3: Solve for $s_m$.
\[ s_m = \frac{4200 \cdot 20}{40} \]
\[ s_m = \frac{4200}{2} \]
\[ s_m = 2100 \text{ J/kgK} \]