Honors Chemistry – Chapter 17
Specific Heat Virtual Lab
Name: ___________________________________
Date: ____________________________________
Heat Exchange Between Metal and Water
PRE-LAB DISCUSSION:
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a solid body depends on its change in temperature
(ΔT), its mass (m), and an intrinsic characteristic of the material forming the body called specific heat (cp). The
heat is calculated from the equation
q = cp x m x ΔT
The unit for cp is thus heat per unit mass per unit temperature. The value of cp does depend on the
temperature. However, for the small temperature range we are interested in, it is a good approximation to
regard cp as temperature independent. Historically, heat (q) was measured in terms of calories. The calorie
was defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 ºC from 14.5 ºC to
15.5 ºC at 1 atmosphere pressure. With this definition, the specific heat of water is 1.00 cal/(g · ºC). The use of
the calorie began before it was established that heat is a form of energy and 1 calorie is equivalent to 4.18 J.
The joule (J) has become the more favored unit in recent years. Thus, the units for cp that we will use are J/(g ·
ºC). The specific heat of water is then 4.18 J/(g · ºC).
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to collect data on calorimetry experiments and to determine
the identity of two unknown metal samples based on collected data and calculated specific heat.
Procedure: Click on the following link to access the virtual lab.
Chemistry Department IA State - Virtual Specific Heat Lab
1. Click on the metal "SILVER" in the top left of the screen.
2. Set the parameters to the following:
mass of metal = 120.00 g
temp of metal = 220.00oC
mass of water = 100.00 g
temp of water = 20.00oC
3. Record the specific heat of the metal and the water in the data table on page 2.
4. Click START.
5. Record the final temperature of the water and the metal in the data table.
6. Repeat the experiment for the remaining three known metals and the two unknowns.
Calculations:
1. For each metal, calculate the heat gained (in joules) by the water. Show all Work!
2. For each metal calculate the heat lost (in Joules) by the metal. Show all Work!
Data Table:
Mass of
Metal (g)
Initial Temp
Specific
of Metal
Heat of
(oC)
Metal (J/gK)
Mass of
Water
(g)
Initial Temp
Specific
Final Temp of
of Water
Heat of
Water/Metal
(oC)
Water (J/gK)
(oC)
Silver
Gold
Copper
Iron
Metal X
???
Metal Y
???
Analysis
1. Compare the answers for the heat lost and heat gained for each metal/water combination.
Do they agree? Should they? Justify your answer.
If they do not agree, list potential sources of error for this experiment in the real laboratory.
2. Calculate the specific heat for the unknowns.
Using the table of specific heat values provided, determine the identity of the unknowns.
3. Discuss the relationship between the specific heat of the various metals and the amount of temperature
change they had on the water. Your answer should include a general correlation and an explanation of
why.