Lesson 1.7 - Moderating Temperature

You have learned that water has a high specific heat capacity.  How does the high specific heat capacity of water affect the air temperature? 

Read Warming Up and Cooling Down with Oceans on pages 109 and 110 in your textbook. Then, answer the following questions.     

Question 1. Does water have a higher specific heat capacity than land?

Question 2. Which will heat faster, land or water?

Question 3. Which will cool faster, land or water?

Question 4. What are two other ways that the high specific heat capacity of water affects climate?

Question 5. What is the name of  the ocean current that moderates the winter of Vancouver?

Question 6. What is the white cloud streaming from the spout of a boiling kettle?

Question 7. Answer questions 1, 3, and 4 of Check Your Understanding on page 110 of the textbook.

Check your answers with those that follow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers to Questions:

Question 1. Does water have a higher specific heat capacity than land?

Water has a higher specific heat capacity than land.

Question 2. Which will heat faster, land or water?

Land will heat faster than water.

Question 3. Which will cool faster, land or water?

Land will cool faster than water.

Question 4. What are two other ways that the high specific heat capacity of water affect climate?

From page 109, the two other ways are the following:

a) On a hot day, water absorbs heat, which slows heating of surrounding areas.
b) At night, water releases heat, which slows cooling of surrounding areas.

Question 5. What is the name of  the ocean current that moderates the winter of Vancouver?

From page 110, the name of the ocean current is the North Pacific Drift.

Question 6. What is the white cloud streaming from the spout of a boiling kettle?

The white cloud is very small water droplets.  It is not water vapour; it is water vapour that has condensed to water droplets.

Question 7. Answer questions 1 to 4 of Check Your Understanding on page 110 of the textbook.

 

Answers to Check Your Understanding questions:

Question 1. a.  Beaker B will require a greater input of thermal energy (heat) because Beaker B has more water.
b.  Beaker B will require a greater input of thermal energy (heat).  Although the volume of water is the same in both, Beaker B has a greater temperature increase.
c.  Beaker A will require a greater input of thermal energy (heat).  Water has a larger specific heat capacity than vegetable oil.  Water is also more dense than vegetable oil, so the mass of water in 250 mL of water is more than the mass of vegetable oil in 250 mL of vegetable oil.

Question 3. The temperature of the water is likely the same in the daytime as at night.  The sand is hot during the day and cold at night.  During the day, the sand is hot; when you go barefoot from the hot sand to the water, the water "feels" cool.  During the night the sand is cold; when you go barefoot from the cold sand to the water, the water "feels" warm.     

Question 4. Water can absorb more heat with a smaller change in temperature than an equal mass of vegetable oil so water is a better coolant.  Water has a high specific heat capacity so it is used as a coolant in car radiators.  Note that antifreeze (ethylene glycol) is added to the water to prevent it from freezing and to prevent rusting. 

 


Now, do Assignment 6A.  Page forward to access the computer-scored assignment.