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Ch 17: Temperature and Heat
Chapter 17, Problem 17

An asteroid with a diameter of 10 km and a mass of 2.60*10^15 kg impacts the earth at a speed of 32.0 km/s, landing in the Pacific Ocean. If 1.00% of the asteroid's kinetic energy goes to boiling the ocean water (assume an initial water temperature of 10.0°C), what mass of water will be boiled away by the collision? (For comparison, the mass of water contained in Lake Superior is about 2*10^15 kg.)

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1
Calculate the kinetic energy (KE) of the asteroid using the formula KE = \frac{1}{2} m v^2, where m is the mass of the asteroid and v is its velocity.
Determine the amount of kinetic energy transferred to boiling the water by multiplying the total kinetic energy by 1.00%.
Use the specific heat capacity of water (c = 4.18 J/g°C) and the latent heat of vaporization of water (L = 2260 J/g) to calculate the total energy required to boil the water. First, calculate the energy needed to raise the temperature of water from 10.0°C to 100°C using Q = mc\Delta T, then add the energy required to convert the water at 100°C to steam using Q = mL.
Set the energy calculated in step 2 equal to the total energy required to heat and vaporize the water from step 3. Solve for the mass of the water (m).
Compare the mass of water boiled away to the mass of water in Lake Superior to understand the scale of the impact.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Kinetic Energy

Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion, calculated using the formula KE = 0.5 * m * v^2, where m is mass and v is velocity. In this scenario, the asteroid's kinetic energy is crucial for determining how much energy is transferred to the ocean upon impact, specifically the portion that contributes to boiling the water.
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Energy Transfer

Energy transfer refers to the process of energy moving from one system to another. In this case, the kinetic energy of the asteroid is partially converted into thermal energy, which heats the ocean water. Understanding this concept is essential to calculate how much water can be boiled based on the energy released during the collision.
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Specific Heat Capacity

Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius. For water, this value is approximately 4.18 J/g°C. This concept is vital for determining how much water can be heated to its boiling point using the energy transferred from the asteroid, allowing us to calculate the mass of water that will boil away.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question
A blacksmith cools a 1.20-kg chunk of iron, initially at 650.0°C, by trickling 15.0°C water over it. All of the water boils away, and the iron ends up at 120.0°C. How much water did the blacksmith trickle over the iron?
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Textbook Question
A copper pot with a mass of 0.500 kg contains 0.170 kg of water, and both are at 20.0°C. A 0.250-kg block of iron at 85.0°C is dropped into the pot. Find the final temperature of the system, assuming no heat loss to the surroundings.
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Textbook Question
An ice-cube tray of negligible mass contains 0.290 kg of water at 18.0°C. How much heat must be removed to cool the water to 0.00°C and freeze it? Express your answer in joules, calories, and Btu
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An insulated beaker with negligible mass contains 0.250 kg of water at 75.0°C. How many kilograms of ice at -20.0°C must be dropped into the water to make the final temperature of the system 40.0°C?
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A 4.00-kg silver ingot is taken from a furnace, where its temperature is 750.0°C, and placed on a large block of ice at 0.0°C. Assuming that all the heat given up by the silver is used to melt the ice, how much ice is melted?
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