experiment date:
Experiment 13 - Heat Effects and Calorimetry
Calorimetry is the study of heat flow from one substance to another.
A calorimeter is an insulated container that allows heat flow between substances, but does not
allow heat to escape.
q = m·s·∆T
q = heat in Joules (J)
m = mass in grams (g)
∆T = temperature change = Tfinal - Tinitial in oC
s = specific heat = heat required to raise the temp. of 1 g of
substance by 1 oC. Units are J/g·oC.
Part A. The goal of this lab is to determine the specific heat of an unknown metal. We will
essentially put hot metal into cold water. Heat flows from the metal to the water. Mathematically,
this process is illustrated by:
qmetal = -qwater
ex. 40.0 g of metal heated to 100. oC is placed in 200.0 g of water at 20.0 oC. The final
temperature of the water (and metal) is 22.0 oC. What is the specific heat of the metal?
(1) Calculate ∆T for the water.
∆T = 22.0 oC – 20.0 oC = 2.0 oC
(2) Calculate ∆T for the metal.
∆T = 22.0 oC – 100. oC = -78 oC
(3) Calculate the heat gained by the water.
qwater = mwater·swater·∆Twater
q water = (200.0 g)(4.184 J/g·oC)(2.0 oC)
qwater = 1.7 x 103 J (two sig. fig. only due to 2 sig. fig. in ∆T)
(4) Calculate the specific heat of the metal. By my method below, this is a two step process.
(a) Calculate heat lost by the metal.
qmetal = -qwater
qmetal = -1.7 x 103 J
(b) Calculate the specific heat of the metal.
smetal =
qmetal____
mmetal·∆Tmetal
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experiment date:
smetal = -1.7 x 103 J___
(40.0 g)(-78 oC)
smetal = 0.54 J/g· oC
ASA – Complete question 1 only.
Procedure - Do Part A only. Where the procedure says to weigh samples to the nearest 0.1 g, we
will instead record all digits shown on the balance. As a general rule, you always want to make
measurements with the greatest precision. With electronic balances, record every digit given.
With other measuring devices (e.g., thermometers), read between the lines to estimate the
doubtful digit.
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