Unit: Fun with physics
Topic: Investigation: heat and temperature
Year 9 Science
Term 3
Name: ________________________
Investigating the difference between heat and temperature
Aim/Question
What do you
want to find out?
Independent
Variable
What will you
change?
Dependent
variable
What will you
measure?
Controlled
Variables
What will you
keep the same?
Predict
Observe
When comparing two different
volumes of water being heated, I
expect that:
Materials
•
•
•
•
•
•
I observed that:
Explain
I think this happened because:
2 x 250 ml heatproof glass beakers
250 ml measuring cylinder
Tap water
2 thermometers
hotplate
2 clamps and retort stands
1. Measure 100 ml of tap water into one beaker and 200 ml of tap water into the other.
Method
2. Put the beakers onto a cold hotplate. Gently place the thermometer into each beaker
and clamp it into an upright position.
NOTE: Don’t let the thermometer touch the bottom of the beaker.
3. Before you turn the hotplate on, record what you predict will happen to the
temperatures if the beakers are heated for the same period. Record the initial
temperature.
Method
4. Turn the heat to high and heat both beakers for 5 mins.
5. Read the temperatures of the water in the beakers at the same moment. Record the
temperatures. Be sure to write down also which beaker of water (100 ml or 200 ml)
each temperature belongs to.
6. Turn off the hot plate and allow the beakers to cool.
7. Clean up equipment as per teacher’s instructions
Diagram
Temperature of Water (oC)
Data Collection
Time
0 sec
30 sec
1 min
1 min 30sec
2 min
2 min 30sec
3 min
3 min 30 sec
4 min
4 min 30 sec
5 min
Beaker 1 (100 ml)
Beaker 2 (200 ml)
Analysis of
results and
observations:
Graph your data
and describe
what trends can
be seen.
DISCUSSION
Data
What does your
data tell you?
1. What was the temperature of the water in both beakers before heating?
2. Which beaker had the highest temperature at the end of the 5 min?
3. Compare the amount of heat energy given to each beaker?
Specific Heat Capacity (Cg) of a substance is the amount of energy required to raise the
temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1oC. To determine the heat energy in a substance we use
this dainty formula; 𝐸 = 𝑚 × 𝐶 × ∆𝑇
where 𝐸 =energy in Joules
𝑚 = mass of substance (grams)
𝐶 = specific heat capacity J / g / oC (for water C = 4.18 J/g/oC)
∆𝑇 = change in temperature (degrees)
4. Use the equation above to compare the heat energy in each beaker of water.
5. What effect did the volume of water have on the temperature?
6. What effect did the volume of water have on the distribution of the heat energy?
7. Explain any difference between temperature and heat energy in the two beakers.
8. Was the heat transferred or transformed from the hot plate to the water? Explain.
Conclusion
A sentence or two
summarising how
the results
answered your
guiding
aim/question of this
experiment