Name_____________________________________
Period: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Specific Heat
Background Information
When heat is transferred from a warmer object to a cooler one, the law of conservation of energy predicts that
the amount of heat gained by the cooler object will equal the amount of heat lost by the warmer object. But the
temperature increase of one object will not necessarily equal the temperature decrease of the other object. This is
because materials differ in their ability to absorb or conduct heat. This property is called specific heat. Specific heat
measures the number of Joules needed to raise one gram of the substance by one degree Celsius. The lower the specific
heat, the greater the temperature changes with the addition of heat.
Objective
In this investigation, a hot metal mass will be placed in cool water bath. Heat will be transferred from the hot
metal to the cool water. From this information you will calculate the specific heat of the metal.
Materials
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 250-mL beaker
 metal cubes
Celsius thermometer
Triple-beam balance
Styrofoam cup
Hotplate
Procedure
1. Using the triple-beam balance, find the mass of the Styrofoam cup and record the
data in your chart.
2. Partially fill the Styrofoam cup with cool water and find the mass of the Styrofoam cup and the water
combined. Record this data in your chart.
3. Calculate the mass of the water and record this data in your chart.
4. Record the temperature of the water using the thermometer. Allow it to sit a few minutes to insure that
you have an accurate reading and record this information in the chart as the starting temperature of the
cool water.
5. Take one of the cubes of metal from the boiling water and quickly place it in your Styrofoam cup. Allow the
temperature of the metal and water to stabilize and record the final temperature of the water and metal.
6. Mass the metal on the triple-beam balance and then put it carefully back in the boiling water.
7. Repeat this procedure with the other two metals.
8. Complete the chart on the next page.
Data Table
Metal #1
Mass of Styrofoam cup (g)
Mass of Styrofoam cup and water (g)
Mass of water (g)
Starting temperature of water (oC)
Starting temperature of metal (oC)
Final temperature of water (oC)
Final temperature of metal (oC)
Metal #2
Metal #3
Change of temperature of water (oC)
Change of temperature of metal (oC)
Mass of the metal (g)
Calculate the heat gained by the water, Q = mcT Make sure you use the mass of the water and the change
in temperature of the water. The specific heat of water is
4.18 J/goC Show all three steps.
Metal #1
Metal #2
Metal #3
It is assumed the heat gained by the water (you just calculated) is equal to the heat lost by your metal. Use this
value to calculate the specific heat of the metal, C = Q/(mT) Make sure you use the mass of the metal and the
change in temperature of the metal.
Metal #1
Metal #2
Metal #3
Use the specific heat values that you just collected and the chart below to determine the identity of each metal.
Aluminum
Specific Heat
(J/gxoC)
.90
Brass
.38
Iron
.45
Lead
.13
Silver
.24
Substance
Metal #1
Metal #2
Metal #3
Critical Thinking and Application
1.
How close were your answers to the actual specific heat values of each metal?
2. What variables could have caused inaccuracies in your calculations?
3. Complete the following chart to identify the differences between heat and temperature.
Definition
Tool used to measure
Unit of measure
Heat
Temperature
4. The specific heat of aluminum and silver are in the chart used earlier. Compare these metals in their ability to
absorb and lose heat.
5. A Styrofoam cup contains 10 g of water. An object with a mass of 423g is added to
the water. If the water temperature increases by 27oC and the temperature of the
object decreases by 10oC, what is the specific heat of the object?