Specific Heat Quiz

Liquid water can store more heat energy than an equal amount of any other naturally occurring substance because liquid water

• covers 71% of Earth's surface

• has its greatest density at 4ºC

• has the higher specific heat

• can be changed into a solid or a gas

How do the rates of warming and cooling of land surfaces compare to the rates of warming and cooling of ocean surfaces?

• Land surfaces warm faster and cool more slowly.

• Land surfaces warm more slowly and cool faster.

• Land surfaces warm faster and cool faster.

• Land surfaces warm more slowly and cool more slowly.

The same amount of heat energy is added to equal masses of lead, iron, basalt, and water at room temperature. Assuming no phase change takes place, which substance will have the smallest change in temperature?

• lead

• iron

• basalt

• water

Five-gram samples of granite, basalt, iron, and copper at room temperature are placed in a beaker of boiling water. Which sample would reach a temperature of 60ºC first?

• copper

• iron

• granite

• basalt

Large oceans moderate the climatic temperatures of surrounding coastal land areas because the temperature of water changes

• rapidly, due to water's low specific heat

• rapidly, due to water's high specific heat

• slowly, due to water's low specific heat

• slowly, due to water's high specific heat

Compared to the climate conditions of dry inland locations, the climate conditions of locations influenced by a nearby ocean generally result in

• hotter summers and colder winters, with a larger annual range of temperatures

• hotter summers and colder winters, with a smaller annual range of temperatures

• cooler summers and warmer winters, with a larger annual range of temperatures

• cooler summers and warmer winters, with a smaller annual range of temperatures

Land surfaces of Earth heat more rapidly than water surfaces because

• more energy from the Sun falls on land than on water

• land has a lower specific heat than water

• sunlight penetrates to greater depths in land than in water

• less of Earth's surface is covered by land than by water

Pieces of lead, copper, iron, and granite, each having a mass of 1 kilogram and a temperature of 100ºC, were removed from a container of boiling water and allowed to cool under identical conditions. Which piece most likely cooled to room temperature first?

• copper

• lead

• iron

• granite

Equal volumes of: water

copper pennies

basaltic sand

iron fragments

were placed outside and heated by energy from the Sun's rays for 30 minutes. The temperature of which sample increased at the slowest rate?

• water

• copper pennies

• basaltic sand

• iron fragments

After sunset, what can be expected with the cooling rate of soil compared to the cooling rate of water?

• The soil will cool faster because it is a good reflector.

• The soil will cool faster because it has a lower specific heat.

• The water will cool faster because it is a good absorber.

• The water will cool faster because it has a higher specific heat.