Specific Heat of Metals

Gabriel, Genevie S.; Hernandez Annemarie G.; Juan, Andrea Mae G.;
Lenon, Jane Rael P.; Lumanglas. Abbygale R.
Group 4: 2J-PH
February 15, 2017
Mesias, Justin
Kalaw, Justine

Introduction other. Letting Q stand for the quantity of heat, this

In general, the heat capacity of an object is
determined by the heat needed to raise its
temperature by one degree—making the heat
capacity, C, to be directly proportional with the heat,
Q, and inversely with the change in temperature, ΔT.
Thus, resulting to a unit of J/°C or J/K, depending on
the temperature unit used.
Whereas, the specific heat, c, is the heat
capacity per unit mass. In the law of heat exchange,
the heat gained of an object equals the heat loss of the
other component.
In this experiment, the specific heat of
metals is to be determined by manually computing
and comparing it with the standard ones. Also, one
can learn the proper usage of calorimeter, applies the
concept of heat exchange, and input the data recorded
in the formula given.
Theory
Heat is defined as an energy in transit from a
high temperature object to a lower temperature
object. An object does not possess "heat"; the
appropriate term for the microscopic energy in an
object is internal energy. The internal energy may be
increased by transferring energy to the object from a
higher temperature (hotter) object - this is properly
called heating.
idea may be expressed as:
Qgained= Qloss
(1)
Temperature is a measure of the average
kinetic energy of the random molecular motion. As a
body gains or loses kinetic energy its temperature
will increase or decrease. The temperature change is
symbolized by DT where
(2) T= TFinal– TInitial
The specific heat is the amount of heat per unit
mass required to raise the temperature by one degree
Celsius. The relationship between heat and
temperature change is usually expressed in the form
shown below where c is the specific heat. The
relationship does not apply if a phase change is
encountered, because the heat added or removed
during a phase change does not change the
temperature.
(3)
Where the amount of heat released or gained by
an object (q) depends on the mass of the object (m)
and the change in temperature of the object (∆T).

When two or more objects at different
temperatures are brought together in an isolated
environment, they eventually reach the same
temperature by the process of heat exchange. That is,
warmer materials transfer heat to colder materials
until their temperatures are the same. The energy
which is being transferred is referred to as internal
energy, energy associated with random molecular
motion on the microscopic scale. This energy can be
divided into kinetic energy and the potential energy
arising from the intermolecular attractive forces in
the material. If we have two isolated substances and
assume no loss to the environment, then the
conservation of energy principle implies that the
energy lost by one substance must be gained by the
In this equation, the proportionality constant Cs
is called the specific heat capacity and every
substance has a characteristic value. For example, the
specific heat capacity of water is 4.184 J g −1 ◦C −1.
This value means that 4.184 J of heat is required to
raise the temperature of 1 g of water by 1 ◦C.
(4) Heat capacity = Specific Heat × Mass
Calorimetry is the science of measuring the
amount of heat. All calorimetric techniques are based
on the measurement of heat that may be generated
(exothermic process), consumed (endothermic
process) or simply dissipated by a sample.
Conduction is the transfer of heat between substances the cold water with the previously submerged metal
with direct contact to each other. The better the in an 80oC water transferred in the calorimeter.
conductor, the more rapidly heat will be transferred
such as metal. Conduction occurs when a substance is Temperature change is calculated by the
heated, particles will gain more energy, and vibrate difference of the final temperature of the system and
more. These molecules then bump into nearby the initial temperature of the metal that gave us the
particles and transfer some of their energy to them. result of -67.9oC. The temperature change of the
This then continues and passes the energy from hot to calorimeter and water is 4.10oC which is calculated
cold. by subtracting the initial temperature of the system
from thefinal temperature of the water and
Results and Discussion calorimeter. Heat gained by the water is computed by
The tables below present all the raw data multiplying the mass of water, specific heat capacity
recorded from the experiment. of water, and the temperature change of the
calorimeter and water which gave a result of
Table 1. Raw data for the Specific 930.7cal. On the other hand, the heat gained by the
Heatof metals calorimeter is 208.74cal which is calculated by
multiplying the mass of calorimeter, specific heat of
Mass of metal 44.8g
aluminum, and the temperature change of the
Mass of calorimeter 236.8g calorimeter and water. -1139.44cal is the heat given
Mass of calorimeter and water 463.8g upby the metal which was obtained by adding the
Mass of water 227.0g heat gained by the water and given up by the metal. It
Specific heat of calorimeter 0.215cal/goC possesses a negative value to obtain a zero result
when the values are added.
Initial temperature of the metal 80.00oC
Initial temperature of the water and 8.0oC The experimental specific heat of the metal
calorimeter in the raw data is 0.215 cal/goC which should be
Final temperature of the system 12.1oC 0.375cal/goC. This error is due to the wrong
Temperature change of the metal 67.90oC substitution of data to the formula to be used.
Absolute error is the difference of absolute value of
Temperature change of the 4.10oC
calorimeter and water
the standard and the experimental value of the
specific heat of the metal. Due to the wrong value of
Heat gained by the water 930.7cal
the experimental value this resulted to 0 cal/goC in
Heat gained by the calorimeter 208.74cal the raw data and gave us 0% percentage error.
Heat given up by the metal 1139.44cal 0.16cal/goC is the expected calculated value. 74.4%
Specific heat of the metal 0.215cal/goC should have been the percentage error which is
(experimental) obtained by dividing the absolute value of the
Specific heat of the metal (standard) 0.215cal/goC difference of standard value and the experimental
Absolute error 0 cal/goC values of the specific heat of metals by its standard
Percentage error 0%
value. This large percentage error is due to the
inaccurate measurement of the change in temperature
of the final temperature of the system and also due to
wrong substitution of data to the formula to be used.
The table above show all the data obtained
from performing the experiment specific heat of Conclusion
metals. The masses of each of the component were
obtained by weighing each of them in the triple beam In the experiment, the specific heat of
balance. The specific heat of the calorimeter was aluminum was determined through the use of
obtained based on the given specific heat of the metal calorimetry. The heat gained by the water is equal to
where the calorimeter is made of which is Aluminum. the heat lost by the metal. The accepted value for the
The initial temperature of the metal is 80oC for it was specific heat of aluminum is 0.375cal/goC which is
the temperature of the water where the metal was 74.4% percentage error. But due to incorrect
submerged. The initial temperature of the water and substitution of values, the group got 0% percentage
calorimeter is measured from the deposited cold error. The group also unsuccessfully identified when
water in the calorimeter which gave 8oC as a result. the system has achieved thermal equilibrium. The
The final temperature of the system which gave group took note of the temperature when it hasn’t fully
12.1oC is gathered by measuring the temperature of stabilized yet. These errors caused the group to
 incorrectly conduct the experiment. Therefore, patience
should be observed in obtaining the change in
temperature.
Formal Report Question:
1. Define the following:
a. Heat – refers to the energy that flows as a
result in the difference of temperature 7.
b. Heat capacity – refers to the amount of heat
required to raise the temperature of a given
quantity of the substance by one degree
Celsius (1˚C)
2. Why is it desirable to have the water a few
degrees colder than the room temperature
when the initial temperature is taken?
Based on the second Law of
Thermodynamics, heat flows hotter to colder
objects. Ideally, water needs to be a few degrees
colder than the room temperature in order that heat
will flow to the system because it is colder than the
surroundings, making the system more efficient in
absorbing heat.
3. Why is the mass of the outer shell of the
calorimeter and the insulating ring not included
in the data for this experiment?
The mass of the outer shell of the
calorimeter and the insulating ring were not
included in the data for this experiment since they
are not part of the isolated system, making their
masses irrelevant in the computation of specific
heat.
4. What does this experiment show about the
specific heat of water
From the data observed in this experiment, it
was proven that water absorbs more amount of
heat than the calorimeter since it has a higher
specific heat.
5. How does the heat conductivity of the metal
used in this experiment affect the accuracy of
the results
The heat conductivity of the metal may
increase or decrease the accuracy of the results
obtained. The rate of heat conduction can be
affected by the properties of the metal, such as the
nature, surface area, thickness and specific heat.
6. Why should the hot metal be dry before it is
introduced into the cold water?
The hot metal should be dry before it is
introduced into the cold water in order to
maximize the direct contact between the surface
of the metal and the molecules of water, thereby
improving the heat exchange.
837 calories of heat are required to hear 100
grams of copper from 10˚C to 100˚C. What is
the specific heat of copper?
Qcopper= (mcopper)(ccopper)( t)
837 cal = (100g)(ccopper)(100°C-10°C)
837 cal = (100g)(90°C)(ccopper)
837 cal = 9000 g C° (ccopper)
9000 g C° 9000 g C°hjvjhvhvj
0.093 cal
= ccopper
gC°
Reference
Calorimetry, (n.d). Retrieved from
http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/c120/c
alorimetry.html
Conduction, (n.d). Retrieved from
http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/how_is
heat_transferred.html
Heat, (n.d). Retrieved fromhttp://hyperphysics.phy-
astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/heat.html
Heat capacity, (n.d). Retrieved
fromhttp://www2.chem21labs.com/labfiles/westernca
rolina_gl139lab09
Specific heat, (n.d). Retrieved from
http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/sph
t.html
Specific Heat and Heat of Fusion, (n.d.). Retrieved
from
http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/Class/PhSc
iLab/heat.html
Vinaja, S., Rickard, E.(2011). Physics: The
Foundational Science. Florida: PensacilaChristan
College. p. 214.