Determine the Specific Heat of a Metal

Name: Jasmine Johnson

Date:

Exercise Number: 1

Title:

Specific Heat

Purpose:

        Determine the specific heat of a metal

Materials:

• Calorimeter
• Sample metal block
• Boiler
• String
• Bunsen burner
• thermometer
• Balance scale

Theory:

        Define heat and temperature. What are the units of heat and temperature in metric and British systems? Define specific heat. Explain why specific heat has the same heat numerical value in metric and British systems.

        Heat (j/BTU) - a form of transferred energy that arises from the random motion of molecules and is felt as temperature, especially as warmth or hotness; a form of energy which transfers among particles in a substance (or system) by means of kinetic energy of those particle.

        Temperature (K/°F) – the degree of heat as an inherent quality of objects, expressed as hotness or coldness, relative to something else.

         Specific Heat -

Procedure:

1. Fill the boiler about three-fourth full of water and heat the water to boil.
2. Determine the mass of the sample metal block (). Note down the metal used. [pic 1]
3. Tie one end of a sufficiently long string to the metal block. Drop the metal block in the boiling water and leave the other end of the string outside the boiler so that the block can be lifted out of the boiling water.
4. The calorimeter consists of an inner cup and an outer cup along with a stirrer, a ring and a wooden cover. Determine the total mass of the inner cup and stirrer ().[pic 2]
5. Take some cold water in the inner cup such that when the metal block is put in the water it will be completely submerged. Determine the mass of the cold water (). Place it in the outer cup with the ring and put the cover. [pic 3]
6. Wait for the metal block to remain in the boiling water for about 15-20 minutes so that the entire metal block attains the temperature of boiling water.
7. Note down the temperature of cold water (. Lift the metal block out of the boiling water and quickly drop it in the cold water and put the cover. [pic 4]
8. Stir the water observing the thermometer reading. Note done the maximum temperature reaches (. [pic 5]
9. The specific heat of the metal (Ss) can now be calculated by using the equation

= [pic 6][pic 7]

Data/Results:

        ΣΔQ=0

        H= ΔT[pic 8]

        [pic 9]

          58g[pic 10]

         270g[pic 11]

         22 C[pic 12][pic 13]

         = 350.1g[pic 14]

         100C[pic 15][pic 16]

         1[pic 17]

         26.1[pic 18]

        [pic 19]

         319.8/25,872 = 0.012[pic 20]

        % error = [pic 21]