---
title: "A student performs two separate calorimetry experiments using insulated containers. In each experiment, a \\(50.0\\text{ g}\\) sample of a solid metal at \\(100.0\\ ^\\circ\\text{C}\\) is placed into \\(100.0\\text{ g}\\) of distilled water initially at \\(20.0\\ ^\\circ\\text{C}\\). The temperature of the water over time for the experiment with Metal X and the experiment with Metal Y is recorded in the graph below. Assuming negligible heat loss to the surroundings, which metal has the greater specific heat capacity, and what reasoning supports this conclusion?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/123846/"
date_modified: "2026-09-28T12:30:32+00:00"
---

# A student performs two separate calorimetry experiments using insulated containers. In each experiment, a \(50.0\text{ g}\) sample of a solid metal at \(100.0\ ^\circ\text{C}\) is placed into \(100.0\text{ g}\) of distilled water initially at \(20.0\ ^\circ\text{C}\). The temperature of the water over time for the experiment with Metal X and the experiment with Metal Y is recorded in the graph below. Assuming negligible heat loss to the surroundings, which metal has the greater specific heat capacity, and what reasoning supports this conclusion?

A student performs two separate calorimetry experiments using insulated containers. In each experiment, a \(50.0\text{ g}\) sample of a solid metal at \(100.0\ ^\circ\text{C}\) is placed into \(100.0\text{ g}\) of distilled water initially at \(20.0\ ^\circ\text{C}\). The temperature of the water over time for the experiment with Metal X and the experiment with Metal Y is recorded in the graph below. Assuming negligible heat loss to the surroundings, which metal has the greater specific heat capacity, and what reasoning supports this conclusion?

![The graph displays two curves on a set of axes with no background gridlines. The horizontal axis is labeled 'Time (s)' ranging from 0 to 120. The vertical axis is labeled 'Temperature of Water (°C)' ranging from 15 to 30 with tick marks at intervals of 5. Both curves start at the point (0, 20.0). A dashed curve representing the water containing Metal X rises smoothly from (0, 20.0) and plateaus horizontally at exactly 24.0°C by 60 s, remaining flat through 120 s. A solid curve representing the water containing Metal Y rises smoothly from (0, 20.0) and plateaus horizontally at exactly 28.0°C by 60 s, remaining flat through 120 s. A legend in the upper left indicates that the dashed line represents Metal X and the solid line represents Metal Y. No other particles, labels, text, or annotations appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-graph-1-1790598631-I67azO.jpg)

- **A.** Metal X, because the water experienced a smaller temperature change, indicating that Metal X absorbed more thermal energy from the water.
- **B.** Metal X, because Metal X underwent a larger decrease in temperature (\(76.0\ ^\circ\text{C}\)) than Metal Y (\(72.0\ ^\circ\text{C}\)) to reach thermal equilibrium.
- **C.** Metal Y, because the solid curve shows that the water temperature increased more rapidly at the start of the experiment.
- **D.** Metal Y, because the water experienced a greater temperature change, indicating that Metal Y released more thermal energy to the water for a similar temperature decrease.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/123846/*