By: Thayne, Brandon, and Tyler
The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the properties of specific heat. We used a sample of an unknown material and heated it to 50⁰C. It was placed into a cup of water and the change in temperature was recorded. This was used in the equation Q=mc∆T and we solved for the value of c.
In this experiment, we used a simple method of measuring a material’s specific heat by measuring the difference in temperature when the heated object was placed into a cup of water.
Unknown Substance Styrofoam Cup Water Black Box Thermometer
1. Record the mass of the unknown substance. 2. Record the mass of a Styrofoam cup. 3. Record the mass of the water in the cup. 4. Measure the temperature of the water. 5. Heat the unknown substance to roughly 50⁰C and record the temperature. 6. Place the substance in the water and record the temperature once it hits equilibrium.
7. Find the differences in the initial and final temperatures of both the substance and the water. 8. Use the equation Q=mc∆T and solve for c.
Test 1Test 2Test 3Average Mass of Cup 1.7 g Mass of Water 36.7 g Mass of Substance 5.7 g Temp of Resistor 50.0 ⁰C52.0⁰C52.7⁰C51.67⁰C Temp of Water 20.8⁰C22.7⁰C23.6⁰C22.37⁰C Temp of Both 22.6⁰C23.7⁰C24.5⁰C23.60⁰C Specific Heat of Water 4200 J/(kgK) Change in Temp (Resistor) 27.3⁰C28.3⁰C28.2⁰C27.93⁰C Change in Temp (Water) 1.8⁰C1.0⁰C0.9⁰C1.23⁰C Specific Heat of Unknown 1783 J/(kgK)956 J/(kgK)863 J/(kgK) J/(kgK)
When using Q=mc∆T, we got various answers on all three of our tests. The average specific heat of our substance we found to be roughly 1200 J/(kg*K).
We would like to thank Mr. Walfred Raisanen for assigning this wonderful experiment. We would also like to thank ourselves for being smart enough to complete the assignment.