RELATIVE SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY OF METALS
John Gammon
Middle School Physical Science
Course Objective: The student will empirically collect data concerning the
specific heat of several different metals. This data will then be represented
in the form of a graph to shoe the comparative specific heat of the metal
samples.
Standards:
S1, S7, G1
Description of Activity:
Students will be provided with the following materials:
100 g samples of steel, copper, aluminum, and brass
Beakers or other suitable container
Bunsen burner or propane torch
Timer of clock/watch with second hand.
Thermometer
This procedure will be followed for each metal sample:
1. One liter of water will be placed in a container.
2. Observe and record the temperature of the water
3. Heat a sample of the metal for 30 seconds.
4. Place the sample in the water.
5. Observe and record the final temperature.
6. Determines change in temperature as a result of heat transfer
Assessment: The students will develop a bar graph to show the relative heat
capacity of the metals tested based on the temperature change of the water.
They will write a one-paragraph summary to interpret their graph and order the
specific heats.
Scoring Guide:
table below.
The student’s score will consist of the total points from the
10 pts
10 pts
10 pts
10 pts
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Data
Initial
Final
Temperature
No data
Collection temperatures
temperatures
change
recorded
Graph
4 metals
relative heat
represented capacities
correct
Paragraph
4 metals
Discussed
3 correct
2 or less
correct
rel. heat
rel . heat
cap. of all
cap. of
samples
samples
2 or less
3