CALCULATING SPECIFIC HEAT
Purpose
The
purpose of this activity is to use the equation Q = msΔT to calculate
heat exchanges between materials and the specific heat of a metal.
Instructions
1.
Obtain
a 250 ml beaker and put 100 ml of water in it. Put it on a hot plate and heat
it until it boils.
2.
Measure
the mass of a metal cylinder
Mass
of metal cylinder =
3.
Place
the metal cylinder in the boiling water bath for a minute.
4.
Record the temperature of the boiling water;
assume the initial temperature of the metal is the same as the water bath.
Temperature
of boiling water =
5.
Measure
the mass of an empty Styrofoam cup.
Mass
of empty Styrofoam cup =
6.
Place
100 ml of water in a Styrofoam cup and weigh it again.
Mass
of Styrofoam cup plus 100 mL of water =
Mass
of water (mass of cup and water – mass of cup) =
7.
Record
the initial temperature of the tap water in Styrofoam cup.
Temperature
of tap water =
8.
Quickly
transfer the hot cylinder to the tap (cold) water in the Styrofoam cup and
record the final temperature of the system immediately.
Temperature
of tap water and metal in Styrofoam cup =
1) Use the
equation Q = msΔT
to calculate the heat gained by the water.
(Use s = 4.18 J/g-C for the specific heat of water.)
∆T = Tmetal and water – Ttap water
M = mass of
water
2) Assume that
the heat gained by the water is equal to the heat lost by the metal (use the Q
from above equation).
Calculate the
specific heat of the metal by dividing the calculated heat from step 1 by both
the mass and change in temperature of the metal: s = Q/mΔT
∆T = Tboiling water – Tmetal
and water
M = mass of
metal
3) The instructor will supply the correct specific heat of the metal. Discuss possible causes of error based on the procedure.