(b) The specific heat of aluminum is 0.9 J/(g - K). Calculate its molar heat capacity.

Key Concepts

Specific Heat Capacity

Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius (or one Kelvin). It is a material-specific property that indicates how much energy a substance can store per unit mass. In this case, aluminum has a specific heat of 0.9 J/(g·K), meaning it requires 0.9 joules of energy to increase the temperature of one gram of aluminum by one Kelvin.

Molar Heat Capacity

Molar heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one mole of a substance by one degree Celsius (or one Kelvin). It is calculated by multiplying the specific heat capacity by the molar mass of the substance. For aluminum, to find its molar heat capacity, we need to use its specific heat and the molar mass, which is approximately 27 g/mol.

Conversion from Specific Heat to Molar Heat Capacity

To convert specific heat capacity to molar heat capacity, the formula used is: Molar Heat Capacity = Specific Heat Capacity × Molar Mass. This relationship allows us to express the heat capacity in terms of moles rather than grams, which is particularly useful in chemical reactions and thermodynamic calculations. For aluminum, this conversion will yield the molar heat capacity in J/(mol·K).