As illustrated in the figure, the 2.0 resistor is immersed in a calorimeter containing water. The combined heat capacity of the calorimeter and the water is 2000 J K ⁻¹ . If the circuit remains active for 15 minutes, find the rise in the temperature of the water.

Step-by-step solution

The equivalent resistance of the parallel combination of the 6 and 2 resistors is: R_p = 6 2 6 + 2 = 1.5 The total resistance of the circuit is: R_ eq = 1 + R_p = 1 + 1.5 = 2.5 The total current drawn from the battery is: I = V R_ eq = 6 2.5 = 2.4 A The voltage across the parallel combination is: V_p = I R_p = 2.4 1.5 = 3.6 V The power dissipated by the 2 resistor is: P = V_p^2 R = (3.6)^2 2 = 6.48 W The heat produced in the 2 resistor in 15 minutes ( 900 seconds) is: H = P t = 6.48 900 = 5832 J Using the heat capa