Calculate the latent heat of fusion of ice

In summary: The latent heat of fusion is the energy required to change the temperature of a substance from its solid state to its liquid state. So if the skater is melting ice, they'll need to expend energy to raise the temperature of the ice until it melts. Then the skater would have to expend energy to lower the temperature of the melted ice back down to 0 degrees.In summary, the skater would need to be really heavy and exert a lot of pressure to melt ice.
  • #1
Kara386
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Homework Statement


I'm given that for water near 0 degrees, dp/dT = ##-1.4\times 10^7PaK^-1##. And that water has a specific volume of ##1\times 10^{-3}m^3kg^{-1}##, while for ice the specific volume is ##1.09\times 10^{-3}m^3kg^{-1}##. Calculate the latent heat of fusion L for ice, and estimate the mass of a skater who melts ice by skating on skates 20cm long and 0.1mm wide. Assume that the rink is at -3 degrees.

Homework Equations


The equation for heat of fusion I know is ##Q=mL##, which I don't think is the way to go here. I did find out that ##\frac{dp}{dT} = \frac{L}{T\Delta V}##, and I think that's the more useful equation.

The Attempt at a Solution


##\frac{dp}{dT}T\Delta V = L##

So I need to calculate ##\Delta V##, but I'm not 100% sure how. If it's related to the 'specific volume', I've never heard of that quantity before and google had nothing useful to say about it...Unless ##\Delta V## is just the difference in specific volume between water and ice?
Also, since I'm multiplying by T and T=0, that whole equation would equal zero anyway, and it definitely shouldn't!
Thanks for any help :)
 
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  • #2
Kara386 said:
Also, since I'm multiplying by T and T=0, that whole equation would equal zero anyway, and it definitely shouldn't!
you can use T in degree K to avoid zero/
 
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  • #3
Kara386 said:
So I need to calculate ΔVΔV\Delta V, but I'm not 100% sure how.
i think you should take the difference in specific volume and calculate- the numbers will assure you about its meaning!
 
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  • #4
Kara386 said:

Homework Statement


I'm given that for water near 0 degrees, dp/dT = ##-1.4\times 10^7PaK^-1##. And that water has a specific volume of ##1\times 10^{-3}m^3kg^{-1}##, while for ice the specific volume is ##1.09\times 10^{-3}m^3kg^{-1}##. Calculate the latent heat of fusion L for ice, and estimate the mass of a skater who melts ice by skating on skates 20cm long and 0.1mm wide. Assume that the rink is at -3 degrees.

Homework Equations


The equation for heat of fusion I know is ##Q=mL##, which I don't think is the way to go here. I did find out that ##\frac{dp}{dT} = \frac{L}{T\Delta V}##, and I think that's the more useful equation.

The Attempt at a Solution


##\frac{dp}{dT}T\Delta V = L##

So I need to calculate ##\Delta V##, but I'm not 100% sure how. If it's related to the 'specific volume', I've never heard of that quantity before and google had nothing useful to say about it...Unless ##\Delta V## is just the difference in specific volume between water and ice?
Also, since I'm multiplying by T and T=0, that whole equation would equal zero anyway, and it definitely shouldn't!
Thanks for any help :)
The specific volume of a substance is that volume occupied by a unit mass of the substance. That's what the word 'specific' means in this context, whether it's referring to specific heat, specific volume, whatever.

The specific volume of liquid water is one of the key physical properties underlying the metric system. If that doesn't tell you what its value should be, then you can always look it up.
 
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  • #5
drvrm said:
you can use T in degree K to avoid zero/
Of course. Thank you!
SteamKing said:
The specific volume of a substance is that volume occupied by a unit mass of the substance. That's what the word 'specific' means in this context, whether it's referring to specific heat, specific volume, whatever.

The specific volume of liquid water is one of the key physical properties underlying the metric system. If that doesn't tell you what its value should be, then you can always look it up.
I should probably have realized that. In hindsight, the units provide a pretty good clue to the definition!

For the second part, I suspect that the skater is going to have to be incredibly heavy to melt ice through pressure. The pressure a skater of mass m exerts will be mg/A. And the heat it takes to melt the ice will be the heat required to raise the temperature to 0 plus the latent heat of fusion. So

##Q = mL + mcdT##

Where m is the mass of the ice to be melted rather than the mass of the skater... I suppose I could calculate for 1kg, or maybe work in heat per kg to melt ice?

Maybe that's the wrong approach entirely, and I should find the pressure required to lower the melting point of ice to -3 degrees. Using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation probably.
 
  • #6
At what pressure is the melting point of water -3 C?
 
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  • #7
Oh, I got it! Integrating Clausius Clapeyron and rearranging a little bit. Thanks!
 

FAQ: Calculate the latent heat of fusion of ice

What is the definition of latent heat of fusion?

The latent heat of fusion is the amount of energy required to change a substance from solid to liquid at its melting point, without changing its temperature.

How is the latent heat of fusion of ice calculated?

The latent heat of fusion of ice can be calculated using the formula Q = mL, where Q is the amount of energy, m is the mass of the substance, and L is the latent heat of fusion. In the case of ice, the mass used would be the mass of the ice that is melted.

What is the value of the latent heat of fusion of ice?

The latent heat of fusion of ice is approximately 334 J/g (Joules per gram). This value may vary slightly depending on the experimental conditions and the purity of the ice.

How does the latent heat of fusion of ice affect the Earth's climate?

The latent heat of fusion of ice plays a crucial role in regulating the Earth's climate. As ice melts, it absorbs a large amount of heat, which helps to keep the Earth's temperature stable. However, with increasing global temperatures, the melting of ice can contribute to rising sea levels and other changes in the Earth's climate.

Can the latent heat of fusion of ice be different for different substances?

Yes, the latent heat of fusion can vary for different substances. It depends on the strength of the bonds between particles in the substance. For example, the latent heat of fusion of water is much higher than that of iron, as the bonds between water molecules are stronger and require more energy to break.

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