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G. C. I-10 Specific Heat Capacity

The lab aimed to understand specific heat capacity using a makeshift calorimeter to measure heat transfer in exothermic and endothermic reactions. The experiment revealed that the metal sample had a lower specific heat capacity than water, leading to quicker temperature changes in the metal. The results had an 8.63% error due to inferior equipment and potential human error in measurements.

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5 views2 pages

G. C. I-10 Specific Heat Capacity

The lab aimed to understand specific heat capacity using a makeshift calorimeter to measure heat transfer in exothermic and endothermic reactions. The experiment revealed that the metal sample had a lower specific heat capacity than water, leading to quicker temperature changes in the metal. The results had an 8.63% error due to inferior equipment and potential human error in measurements.

Uploaded by

64x4t2zdhq
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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G.C.

I-10 Specific Heat Capacity Lab Maddox


Anderson

The purpose of this lab was to help understand specific heat capacity by
application of the first law of thermodynamics through construction of a
“coffee cup” makeshift calorimeter. We will then use this calorimeter to
determine heat transfer in exothermic and endothermic reactions.

Explain specific heat capacity and differences in exothermic and


endothermic processes.

- Specific heat capacity (C) is the amount of energy required to raise the
temperature of a one gram of a substance by exactly one degree Celsius.
This number determines how much energy a substance can absorb or
release before its temperature changes significantly, or essentially how
resistant to temperature change it is.

Equation: q=mCΔT

q= heat energy (joules)

m = mass (grams)

C= specific heat capacity (J/g°C)

ΔT = change in temperature (°C)

Compare your sample’s specific heat capacity with water’s specific heat
capacity. Which one has a lower value and how can differences ne explained
regarding gaining or losing heat?

-Our sample’s specific heat capacity was approximately 0.982J/g°C, while


water has a specific heat capacity of 4.18J/g°C, meaning the sample of metal
has a much lower heat capacity, and that water has a very high specific heat
capacity. This means that the metal will take much less energy to heat up
compared to the water. This is also shown by the relatively little change in
temperature in the water after the hot metal was dropped into it, and why
the metal cooled down so quickly because it lost the energy very quickly to
the water, which can absord lots of energy due to its high specific heat
capacity.

Why did you quickly transfer your metal to the calorimeter?


-We quickly transferred the metal to the calorimeter because we wanted to
keep the sample right around 100°C for both of the trials to make calculation
more consistent and to help verify the results of our trials if both occurred
similarly. Also, we wanted to make sure the metal didn’t lose the energy that
it had attained, since it has a relatively low C, that means it takes less energy
to heat up, therefore it will also take less time to lose any energy it has
gained, and will therefore cool down very quickly when exposed to the room
temperature.

Explain your percent error. Why were your experimental results different
than the accepted value?

-Our percent error was 8.63%, and this is the case because we used inferior
equipment compared to the kind of tools and calorimeters that the scientists
who found the accepted value likely had access to. In turn, that gave us far
less control then the highly specialized and expensive machines that give
much greater control and consistency and accuracy when undergoing a
similar experiment. On top of that, there was likely human error with
measuring the exact amounts and temperatures, doing so by eye is never
exact. This in turn creates error and deviation from the true values and
calculations within our experiment, which results in our precent error.

In conclusion, this lab helped us to visualize and learn about the intricacies of
specific heat capacities in different substances and how the interplay of
multiple substances with differing heat capacities interact with one another
regarding the diffusion of energy (in this case we measure this in the form of
heat which we measure by the temperature and temperature change). We
also got to see the fundamentals of a basic calorimeter, even constructing
our own to perform the experiment.

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