Experiment 10

Specific Heat Capacities of Metals

By Erica Chan

Class: Wednesday 2:00-3:50 PM

Experiment Date: 3/26/14

Submission Date: 4/2/14

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Purpose:

The purpose of Experiment 10 is to measure the specific heat capacities of

aluminum, steel, and brass.

Theory:

The amount of heat (∆Q) required to change the temperature of an object is

proportional to the mass (m) of the object and the temperature change (∆T) of the
object. Equation 1: ∆𝑄 = 𝑐𝑚∆𝑇 where 𝑐 is called as the specific heat capacity of the
material. In the calorie units system, the unit of quantity of heat “calorie” is defined
as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water from
14.50 to 15.50 C. Then, water has a specific heat of 1 cal/𝑔0 C, i.e.,
∆𝑄 1 𝑐𝑎𝑙
𝑐𝑊 = =
𝑚∆T (1𝑔)(10 C)
The specific heat of a material can be determined experimentally by measuring the
temperature change of a given mass of material caused by a quantity of heat. This is
done by a procedure known as the method of mixture. An object of mass m is heated
to an initial temperature 𝑇1 and then dropped into water of mass 𝑚𝑊 at
temperature 𝑇𝑊 . The mixture will come to equilibrium at a final temperature 𝑇2 , if
no energy is lost to the surroundings during the process, conservation of energy
requires that the heat lost by the object equals the heat gained by the water, i.e.,
𝑚𝑐(𝑇1 − 𝑇2 ) = 𝑚𝑊 𝑐𝑊 (𝑇2 − 𝑇𝑊 ) where c and 𝑐𝑊 are the specific heats of the
material and water respectively.

The mixture is contained in a plastic cup inside a thermos and covered by a cork
with a hole for a thermometer (Therefore, it can be assumed that the plastic cup
doesn’t absorb or release heat.). This assembly is called a calorimeter.

Data:

Data Table 1
Aluminum 𝑚(𝑔) 0
𝑇1 ( 𝐶 ) 𝑚𝑊 (g) 𝑇𝑊 ( 0𝐶 ) 𝑇2 ( 0𝐶 ) c (cal/𝑔0 C)
experimental
1 24.6 3.19 𝑥 10−2
2 120.55 100 100 21.7 24.4 2.96 𝑥 10−2
3 24.4 2.96 𝑥 10−2

Data Table 2
Steel 𝑚(𝑔) 0
𝑇1 ( 𝐶 ) 𝑚𝑊 (g) 𝑇𝑊 ( 0𝐶 ) 𝑇2 ( 0𝐶 ) c (cal/𝑔0 C)
experimental
1 27.4 1.16 𝑥 10−1
2 66.65 100 100 21.7 27.4 1.16 𝑥 10−1
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3 26.4 9.38 𝑥 10−2

Data Table 3
Brass 𝑚(𝑔) 0
𝑇1 ( 𝐶 ) 𝑚𝑊 (g) 𝑇𝑊 ( 0𝐶 ) 𝑇2 ( 0𝐶 ) c (cal/𝑔0 C)
experimental
1 29.0 9.25 𝑥 10−2
2 111.12 100 100 21.7 29.1 9.39 𝑥 10−2
3 28.5 8.56 𝑥 10−2

Table 4
Aluminum c (cal/𝑔0 C) Deviation c (cal/𝑔0 C) % error
experimental 𝑑 = 𝑐 − 𝑐̅ accepted
1 3.19 𝑥 10−2 1.50 𝑥 10−3
2 2.96 𝑥 10−2 −8.00 𝑥 10−4 0.22 85.5%
3 2.96 𝑥 10−2 −8.00 𝑥 10−4
Average 𝑐̅: 3.04 𝑥 10−2 𝑑̅ : − 3.33 𝑥 10−5

Table 5
Steel c (cal/𝑔 C)
0
Deviation c (cal/𝑔0 C) % error
experimental 𝑑 = 𝑐 − 𝑐̅ accepted
1 1.16 𝑥 10−1 7.40 𝑥 10−3
2 1.16 𝑥 10−1 7.40 𝑥 10−3 0.11 5.45%
3 9.38 𝑥 10−2 1.48 𝑥 10−2
Average 𝑐̅: 1.09 𝑥 10−1 𝑑̅: 0.00

Table 6
Brass c (cal/𝑔 C)
0
Deviation c (cal/𝑔0 C) % error
experimental 𝑑 = 𝑐 − 𝑐̅ accepted
1 9.25 𝑥 10−2 1.80 𝑥 10−3
2 9.39 𝑥 10−2 3.20 𝑥 10−3 0.093 0.97%
3 8.56 𝑥 10−2 −5.10 𝑥 10−3
Average 𝑐̅: 9.07 𝑥 10−2 𝑑̅: −3.33 𝑥 10−5

Calculations:
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Conclusion:

Experiment 10 taught me how to measure the heat capacities of items by using the
method of mixture. I also learned oh to control temperatures experimentally by
using a calorimeter. I learned how to derive the equation: 𝑚𝑐(𝑇1 − 𝑇2 ) =
𝑚𝑊 𝑐𝑊 (𝑇2 − 𝑇𝑊 ) to an equation that shows the specific heat of an object
𝑚 𝑐𝑊 (𝑇2 −𝑇𝑊 )
experimentally: 𝑐 = 𝑊𝑚(𝑇 . There is a high percent error of 85.5% for
1 −𝑇 )
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aluminum. This is most likely due to human error when using the calorimeter. It is
possible that there was a leak in the styrofoam cup, or that my group didn’t put the
object in the cup fast enough. This error percentage could be reduced if more trials
were done or if the TA could review the values to make sure they are in the correct
value ranges. The accepted values for brass and steel were about the same as the
experimental values for the specific heats. The experimental value for aluminum
(0.0319 c (cal/𝑔0 C)) was significantly lower than the accepted value (0.22 c
(cal/𝑔0 C)), because as mentioned before, there must’ve been a human error that
occurred during the experiment. Overall, the experiment was easy to complete
because there were only a few steps and a three trials per material.