You have a 10 gram piece of aluminum and a 10 gram piece of gold sitting in the sun. Which metal will warm by ten degrees first and why?

Question

chemistry question 

Answer 1

Look up the specific heats of aluminum and gold in your chemistry book.  If both have the same mass, the one with lower specific heat will warm up faster.  Here is why:

 

Q = mcΔT

 

ΔT = Q/(mc)

 

Over the same time interval, they both receive the same heat Q from the sun.  They have the same mass m.  Then the one with lower c will achieve a higher ΔT over the same time interval.