1405 2008c
Specific Heat
Materials
500mL Beaker
Immersion Heater
Styrofoam Cup
Thermometer
WARNING: The immersion heater must be fully immersed in water at all
times when it is plugged in. Unplug it before removing it from water.
Part 1 Constant Heat Applied to Different Water Volume
1) Fill the Beaker with 200mL of tap water.
2) Place the immersion heater into the Beaker. Measure the temperature of
the water.
3) Plug in the heater and use it to stir the water. After 60 seconds,
immediately unplug the heater and continue to stir while measuring
the temperature. Continue until the temperature reaches a peak value.
Record this temperature.
4) Rinse the Beaker to cool it. Fill the Beaker to 300mL. Repeat steps 2&3.
5) Rinse the Beaker to cool it. Fill the Beaker to 400mL. Repeat 2&3.
6) Rinse the Beaker to cool it. Fill the Beaker to 500mL. Repeat 2&3.
Table 1 Constant Heating of Different Water Volume & Mass
Water
Volume
Water
Mass
(mL)
(kg)
200
0.200
300
0.300
400
0.400
500
0.500
Ti (°C)
Tf (°C)
Measured
(Mass)·T
T (C°)
(kg·C°)
Part 2 Mixing Equal Amounts of Different Temperature Water.
1) Use the Beaker to measure 200mL of tap water. Pour this into the
Styrofoam Cup. Measure and record the cold temperature below.
2) Add another 200mL of tap water into the Beaker. Use the immersion
heater to warm the water to about 40 degrees Celsius. Unplug the
heater and continue to stir while recording the temperature. When a
peak value is achieved, record the hot temperature.
3) Pour the hot water into the Styrofoam Cup water. Stir with the
thermometer. When a stable value is achieved, record the equilibrium
temperature.
1405 2008c
Table 2. Mixing Equal Volumes of Different Temperature Water
Write all numbers with one decimal place, e.g., 20.0, 40.8, etc.
Tcold (°C)
Thot (°C)
Teq (°C)
(°C)
Summing Up:
1. Object A and B are made of the same material but object B is twice as
massive as object A. The same amount of heat is applied to each object. We will
find that
a) each object’s temperature increases by the same amount
b) the larger object B’s temperature will increase more
c) the smaller object A’s temperature will increase more
2. Tap water is used to fill one cup full of water and another identical cup half
full of water. Both cups are placed in a microwave and heated together for one
minute. We will find that
a) Each cup of water has reached the same temperature
b) The full cup of water will be hotter
c) The half cup of water will be hotter
3. A cup of 100 deg. C water is mixed with a cup of 20 deg. C water. The
temperature of the mixture is
a) 40 deg. C
b) 50 deg. C
c) 60 deg. C
4. Your heater outputs Q = 18,000 joules of heat per minute. Calculate the
specific heat of water, c = Q/mT, using from the 200mL data you took.