Select the correct answer.

The table shows the specific heat of four substances: brick, dry soil, paper, and water. If all four substances were exposed to sunlight for the same amount of time, which substance would heat up the slowest?

\begin{tabular}{|l|c|}
\hline
Substance & Specific Heat [tex][tex]$\left(\frac{ J }{ g ^{\circ}C }\right)$[/tex][/tex] \\
\hline
brick & 0.9 \\
\hline
dry soil & 1.26 \\
\hline
paper & 1.336 \\
\hline
water & 4.18 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

A. water
B. dry soil
C. paper
D. brick



Answer :

To determine which substance would heat up the slowest when exposed to sunlight for the same amount of time, we need to look at the specific heat of each substance.

The specific heat values from the table are:
- Brick: 0.9 [tex]\( \left(\frac{ J }{ g \cdot °C }\right) \)[/tex]
- Dry soil: 1.26 [tex]\( \left(\frac{ J }{ g \cdot °C }\right) \)[/tex]
- Paper: 1.336 [tex]\( \left(\frac{ J }{ g \cdot °C }\right) \)[/tex]
- Water: 4.18 [tex]\( \left(\frac{ J }{ g \cdot °C }\right) \)[/tex]

The specific heat of a substance indicates how much energy is required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of the substance by 1 degree Celsius. A higher specific heat means the substance can absorb more heat before its temperature rises significantly, indicating that it heats up more slowly.

Let's analyze the specific heat values:
- Brick: 0.9 [tex]\( \left(\frac{ J }{ g \cdot °C }\right) \)[/tex]
- Dry soil: 1.26 [tex]\( \left(\frac{ J }{ g \cdot °C }\right) \)[/tex]
- Paper: 1.336 [tex]\( \left(\frac{ J }{ g \cdot °C }\right) \)[/tex]
- Water: 4.18 [tex]\( \left(\frac{ J }{ g \cdot °C }\right) \)[/tex]

We compare these values and see that water has the highest specific heat value of 4.18 [tex]\( \left(\frac{ J }{ g \cdot °C }\right) \)[/tex].

Thus, the substance that will heat up the slowest when exposed to sunlight for the same amount of time is water.

The correct answer is:

A. water