The Coffee Cup Heat Sink · AI Generator #GEN-262744BD

Physics · thermodynamics

Problem

A computer engineer discovers that her laptop CPU runs cooler when she places a hot coffee mug on the laptop's aluminum case. The mug contains

m = 250\;\text{g}

of coffee at initial temperature

T_\text{coffee} = 85°\text{C}

, while the laptop case (acting as a heat sink) has mass

M = 400\;\text{g}

and initial temperature

T_\text{laptop} = 65°\text{C}

. Both the coffee and aluminum case can be assumed to have the same specific heat capacity

c = 900\;\text{J/(kg·K)}

. When thermal equilibrium is reached, what is the final temperature of the system? Assume no heat is lost to the surroundings.