Specific Heat Of Metals Lab
Objective: Using a calorimeter, you will determine the specific heat of metals.
Procedure:
You must write your own procedure (10 points). You must detail what you did so your grandma could
repeat this experiment in her kitchen.
Some hints…..
 Less water in the calorimeter is better than more water. (enough to cover the metal is all you need)
 Density of water is 1g/ml (and if you don’t know why this is important, transfer to Biology)
 Equilibrium occurs when the thermometer hits its highest point after the metal is added to the water.
 Minimize heat loss by getting the metal into the cup quickly and putting a lid on it!
Data Table: There are two data tables because you are going to test two metals.
Mass of Metal ____g Initial temp metal ____ oC Final temp metal _____ oCmetal oC
Mass of H2O _____g Initial temp H2O _____ oC Final temp H2O _____ oC oC
Mass of Metal ____g Initial temp metal ____ oC Final temp metal _____ oCmetal oC
Mass of H2O _____g Initial temp H2O _____ oC Final temp H2O _____ oC oC
Calculations: YOU MUST SHOW ALL OF YOUR WORK
1. Find qwater.
2. Use qwater to solve for the specific heat of the metal. (Remember that the heat (qwater) absorbed by the
water is equal to the heat (qmetal) given off by the metal.
3. Subtract the value you get for the specific heat of the metal from the actual value of specific heat for that
metal and then divide by the actual specific heat of the metal to find your percentage error (of course you
need to multiply that by 100 to find %).
Determine which metal you have: (once you have found your calculation answer to #2, you can
determine which metal you have)
Mg has a specific heat of 1.02 J/goC
Al has a specific heat of 0.90 J/goC
Ni has a specific heat of 0.44 J/goC
Zn has a specific heat of 0.39 J/goC
Sn has a specific heat of 0.22 J/goC
Pb has a specific heat of 0.13 J/goC
Au has a specific heat of 0.13 J/goC
Brass has a specific heat of 0.38 J/goC
Cu has a specific heat of 0.39 J/goC
Fe has a specific heat of 0.448 J/goC
What is due for this lab:
1. A step-by-step procedure
2. Data table for each metal (minimum of 2 metals)
3. Calculations 1-3 for each metal
4. Predict which metals you have based on your calculations.