Name: _____________________
Period: _____________________
Date: _____________________
Go to: http://www.chm.davidson.edu/vce/calorimetry/SpecificHeatCapacityofCopper.html
Specific Heat of Metals Make Up
Directions:
1. Go to the website listed above. Read the information and then scroll
down to the applet. Uses JAVA so may need to update or allow JAVA
to run. Part 1 is Iron and part 2 is Copper.
2. Use the mass of the water and the metal from your data table below.
3. Using the thermometer on the screen, record the initial temperature of
the water under Water A on the data table below before placing the
metal in the water. The initial temperature of the metal is given.
4. Click on the start button. This will drop the metal into the water. You
will see the temperature of the thermometer go up. When the
temperature stops moving, record this temperature as the final
temperature for both Iron and Water A since they have reached
equilibrium.
5. For Part 2 repeat steps 3 and 4 and record the data under Metal B and
Water B on the data table.
Background Information:
Define Specific Heat—
Part 1
Data Table
Mass (g)
Initial Temp
Final Temp
Temperature
Change (˚C)
Specific Heat
(J/g˚C)
Heat Energy
(J)
Water A
50g
Part 2
Iron
10g
100˚C
0.450 J/g˚C
Water B
50g
Copper
10g
100˚C
Name: _____________________
Period: _____________________
Date: _____________________
Calculations (show all work and equations):
Iron
1. Calculate the heat energy lost by the iron.
2. Assuming that the amount of energy lost from the iron is the same as the
energy gained by the water. Calculate the specific heat of Water A.
Copper
3. What is the specific heat capacity of the water in the calorimeter?
4. Calculate the heat energy gained by the water
5. Assuming that the amount of energy gained by the water is the same as the
energy lost by the metal, calculate the specific heat of copper.
Analysis Questions
1. When we did the lab in class we left the metal in boiling water for 6-10
minutes before using the calorimeter. Why would we need to do this step?
How would the amount of time in the boiling water affect the initial temp of
the metal?
2. Why is the heat lost by the metal sample equal to the heat gained by the
water in the calorimeter?
Name: _____________________
Period: _____________________
Date: _____________________
3. In which direction did heat flow when
a. the cube was placed in the boiling water?
b. the cube was placed in the calorimeter?
4. If the T for the water was doubled, what would happen to the amount of
heat energy?
5. When 271.2 joules of energy is lost from a 120-gram object, the
temperature decreases from 45°C to 40°C. What is the specific heat of this
object? Of what material is the object made?
Substance
Material Specific Heat (J/kg °C)
Aluminum
Lead
Zinc
Steel
Specific Heat
Capacity (J/g˚C)
0.90
0.129
0.388
0.452
6. If the same amount of heat was added to each of the following substances,
which one will have the largest temperature rise? Why?
Substance
Specific Heat
(J/g˚C)
A
500
B
300
C
900
7. You are given an unknown metal. Write a procedure on how you would use
calorimetry to identify the metal.