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Lab: The Specific Heat of a Metal

Miss Cooper
Purpose: To determine the specific heat of a metal.
Background:

Thermochemistry: study of heat changes that occur during chemical and physical changes

Calorimetry: measurement of heat changes

Kinetic Energy: energy due to motion of particles

Temperature: measure of average kinetic energy of particles

Specific heat: amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance 1 degree C;
Units: J / g oC (Joules per gram-degree Celecius)

Joule: measurement of heat energy; also can use Calorie


(about 4 Joules = 1 calorie, and 1000 calories = 1 Calorie)

Equation for specific heat: c = q / m T


q = heat energy that was transferred
m = mass

T = change in temperature of the substance

Specific heat of water = 4.184 J / g oC


(it takes 4.184 Joules of energy to raise the temp of 1 gram of water 1 degree C)

Specific heat for some other substances:

Prcedures:
1.
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4.

5.
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9.
10.

Record the name of the metal you are testing.


Use a hot plate to heat about 250 mL of water in a 400 or 600 mL beaker, until it is boiling gently.
While the water is heating, weigh out 80-120 g of metal using a paper cup.
Transfer the metal to a large, dry test tube. Place the test tube in the boiling water using a test tube
holder. The metal should be below the level of the water in the beaker. Leave the test tube in the
water bath for at least 10 minutes, to allow the metal to heat up so it is the same temperature as
the hot water.
While the metal is heating, pour about 100 mL of water into a foam cup and record its mass. Do
this by first placing the cup on the balance and zeroing it, then pouring in 100 mL from a
graduated cylinder and recording the mass.
Measure the temperature of the water in the hot water bath. (Be sure to read the thermometers to
the correct precisionas we have learned)
Measure the temperature of the water in the cup
(Read this entire procedure before starting it!) Remove the test tube from the boiling water and
quickly pour the metal into the foam cup. Immediately place a thermometer and stirring rod in the
cup. Use the stirring rod to gently stir the metal. Do NOT stir with the thermometer. Carefully
record the MAXIMUM temperature reached.
Pour the water off, (use a metal screen to ensure that no metal falls into the sink) and return the
metal to the tray at the front of the room.
Return all equipment and clean-up your station.

Name: __________________________
Period: _____
Data:
Metal used
Mass of metal
Mass of water
Temperature of water in hot water bath
Initial temperature of water in foam cup
Maximum temperature of metal + water in cup
Change in temperature of water in cup (calc-1)
Change in temperature of metal (calc-2)
Heat gained by water (calc-3)
Heat lost by metal (calc-4)
Specific heat of metal (calc-5)
Accepted value
Error (calc-6)
% Error (calc-7)

Calculations: (reminder: show all units and cancellations, use correct number of sig figs)
1.

Temperature change of water in cup

2.

Temperature change of metal

3.

Heat gained (q) by water (use

4.

Heat lost by metal (heat lost by metal = - heat gained by water)

5.

Specific heat of metal ( c = (q) / (mass)(temp change) )

6.

Error

q = (mass) (temp change) (specific heat) )

9. % Error

Discussion/analysis: (MUST BE TYPED, and IN COMPLETE SENTENCES!)


Calculations can be hand written, but must be in pen
1.

What was the least precise measurement from this experiment (fewest decimal places): the mass of metal,
the volume of water in the cup, the mass of water in the cup, or temperature of the metal?

The least precise measurement from this experiment was the


temperature of the metal.
2.

A. Explain how the heat gained by the water was determined.

The heat gained by the water was determined by first calculating the
temperature change of the water in the cup (11.7 C) and plugging this
into the equation q = (mass) (temp change) (specific heat).
B. What two measured values were necessary?

The two measured values necessary were the mass of the water
(99.348 g) and the temperature change of water in cup (11.7 C).
C. What other value was necessary?

The other value necessary was the specific heat of water.


3.

Explain why you needed to determine the heat gained by the water.

We needed to determine the heat gained by the water since we


needed to determine the heat lost by the metal. The heat lost by the
metal was the inverse of the heat gained by the water. To find the
value for heat lost, which was necessary in finding the specific heat of
the metal, we just negated the value for heat gained.
4.

Explain how you used the heat gained by water to find the specific heat of the metal.

The value for heat gained by the water was negated, which became
the heat lost by the metal. The specific heat was then calculated using
the formula ( c = (q) / (mass)(temp change) ). We plugged in the
value for heat lost in the q value.
5.

What were possible sources of error in this experiment?

Some possible sources of error in this experiment could have been that
the metal lost some heat in the transfer between the test tube and the
water in the cup, or that the water temperature was recorded prior to
reaching the maximum temperature.
6.

A. Is it reasonable to assume that the foam cup absorbed some of the heat from the metal?

Yes, this assumption is reasonable.

B. If yes, how would this affect your experimental value for the specific heat of the metal? Explain.

This would cause error in the experimental value because the


temperature of the water would be lower since some of the heat was
absorbed by the foam.
C. Why is a foam cup better to use for this experiment than a metal or glass container?

The foam cup is better to use for this experiment because its specific
heat is higher than that of metal or glass, and it would absorb less
heat, leaving less room for error.
D. What could you do to take into account any heat that the foam cup gainedwhat values would you
need to know about the cup?

In order to take into account the heat that the foam cup gained, you
would have to know the cups initial temperature, final temperature,
mass, and specific heat.
7.

You assumed that the initial temperature of the metal was the same as that of the boiling water. If the metal
was actually at a lower temperature than the water, how would your value for the specific heat be affected?

If the metal was actually at a lower temperature than the water, then
the temperature change of the metal would have been less as well.
Therefore the specific heat of the metal would have been lower.
8.

What would be necessary to find specific heat of a substance to the thousandths place?

In order to find specific heat of a substance to the thousandths place, a


thermometer that could be read to the hundredths place and
estimated to the thousandths place would have had to have been
used.
9.

Based on the accepted value for your metal, how much energy would be required to raise the temperature
of a 50.0 g piece of the metal from 20.0 C to 52 C?

10. Based on the accepted value for you metal, how much energy would a sample of ice have to absorb to cool
a hot piece of this metal (50.0 g sample) from 150 C to room temperature of 20.0 C?

11. Is specific heat a physical or a chemical property?

Specific heat is a physical property.

12. How could specific heat be used to identify an unknown substance?

One could conduct an experiment similar to this one, calculate the


specific heat, and compare it to the accepted values of the specific
heats of substances.
13. A particular metal has a specific heat of 0.48 J/gC. A. Would it require more or less energy than the metal
used in this lab to change its temperature? B. Explain.

A. It would require less energy than the metal used in this lab to
change its temperature. B. Specific heat is defined as the amount of
heat needed to raise the temperature of 1g of a substance 1 degree C.
Since the particular metal has a specific heat less than the specific
heat of aluminum (the metal used in this lab), it would require less
energy to change the temperature of the particular metal than to
change the temperature of aluminum.
14. The specific heat of most oils is 2 J/gC. If you were heating samples of water and oil with the same amount
of energy, which would heat up faster, the oil or water?

The oil would heat up faster than the water.


15. In general, what has higher specific heat, solids or liquids? How does this affect climate?

In general, liquids have a higher specific heat than solids. This affects
climate in that it is easy for glaciers and ice at the poles to melt.
16. A disc of wax has several hot metal samples placed on it. The samples are of different metals. They are all
at the same temperature and have the same mass and contact area with the wax. How will the heat capacity
of each metal affect the rate at which it melts the wax. Explain.

The metals with lower specific heats will melt the wax at a faster rate.
This is because metals with lower specific heats heat faster than
metals with higher specific heats. The metals with low specific heats
will have warmed enough to melt the wax before the high specific heat
metals.
17. Consider a cup that will be used to hold a hot beverage. Would it be best to have the material of the cup to
have a high or low specific heat? Explain.

It would be best for the cups material to have a high specific heat. If
the cup had a high specific heat, then the beverage would stay hot for
a longer period of time, and it would keep the persons hand from
being burnt by the heat.
18. When cooking food on a stove in a pan, would is be best to have a pan with high or low specific heat?
Explain.

When cooking food on a stove in a pan, it would be best to have a pan


with low specific heat, so that the pan would heat faster and would
cook the food more efficiently and thoroughly.

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