Question

oposed solution scenario: building a berm
disko bay
ilulissat icefjord
if a concrete berm were built, represented by the added rectangle on top of the fjord sill, the flow of warm water would be impeded. it would be built with 2.4 x 10¹⁴ grams of concrete which has a specific heat of 0.88 j/gc.
assume that every day, 7.04 x 10¹⁸ grams of salt water will contact the berm wall. the water would begin with an average temperature yesterday of 4.2°c, but then after coming into contact with the wall, would drop to 3.5°c. salt water has a different specific heat capacity than pure water, at 3.85 j/(g c).

1. what would be energy absorbed by the concrete wall, assuming that it starts at 3.2°c?

Explanation:

Step1: Identify the formula for heat transfer

The formula for heat transfer is $Q = mc\Delta T$, where $Q$ is the heat energy, $m$ is the mass, $c$ is the specific - heat capacity, and $\Delta T$ is the change in temperature.

Step2: Determine the values of $m$, $c$, and $\Delta T$ for the salt - water

The mass of salt - water $m = 7.04\times10^{18}$ g, the specific heat capacity of salt - water $c = 3.85$ J/(g°C), and the change in temperature $\Delta T=T_{initial}-T_{final}=4.2 - 3.5=0.7$°C.

Step3: Calculate the heat energy released by the salt - water

Using the formula $Q = mc\Delta T$, we substitute the values:
$Q=(7.04\times 10^{18}\text{ g})\times(3.85\text{ J/(g°C)})\times(0.7\text{ °C})$
$Q = 7.04\times10^{18}\times3.85\times0.7\text{ J}$
$Q = 7.04\times2.695\times10^{18}\text{ J}$
$Q = 19.0728\times10^{18}\text{ J}$
$Q = 1.90728\times 10^{19}\text{ J}$

According to the law of conservation of energy, the energy absorbed by the concrete wall is equal to the energy released by the salt - water.

Answer:

$1.90728\times 10^{19}$ J