Characteristics of Matter #1
1. How much energy is required to increase the temperature of 150
grams of water from 20ºC to 90ºC?
6. A 100 grams piece of metal increases its temperature from 20ºC to
60ºC when 2500 Joules of energy are added to it. What is the specific
heat capacity of this metal?
2. What is the mass of an iron skillet if its temperature increases
250ºC when 15000 J of energy is added to it?
7. What is the mass of an aluminum pan if it requires 2000 Joules of
energy to increase its temperature 20ºC?
3. How much will the temperature of a 75 g silver fork increase if 2000
J of energy are added to it?
8. How much energy is given off by a 1500g iron pot as it cools from
320ºC to 25ºC?
4. If the initial temperature of the fork in the preceding problem is
28ºC, what is the new temperature after it has been heated?
9. A cup of tea can be consumed without burning one's tongue when its
temperature is 80ºC. Assuming that the specific heat of tea is basically
the same as the water from which it is made, how much energy is
absorbed by the body of the person who drinks a 125 g cup of tea as it
cools in his stomach to a body temperature of 37ºC?
5. A child with the body temperature of 98ºC picks up a 20 g piece of
aluminum at room temperature (25ºC). He puts this piece of aluminum in
his pocket and eventually it warms up to his body temperature. How much
energy did his body lose by warming this piece of aluminum?
Characteristics of Matter #2
1. An object with a mass of 50.00 grams and volume of 100 mls is placed
in water. What is the density of this object? If the density of water is
1.00 g/cm3, will this object float?
5. The density of turpentine is 0.868 g/ml. What is the mass of 250.
mls?
Matter Vocab
Place the following in one of four categories: mixture, solution, pure
element, pure compound.
Table sugar:________________________
2. A cube has a mass of 2.4 kg. Its dimensions are 4cm x 4cm x 4cm.
What is its density?
Water: ________________________
Coca-cola in a can: ________________________
Vegetable soup: ________________________
A penny: ________________________
3. An object of unknown volume and a mass of 25.0 g is placed in a
graduated cylinder filled with 3.5 mls of water. The water level in the
graduated cylinder rises to 21.5 mls when the object is completely
submerged. What is the volume of the object? What is the density of
the object? Will the object float?
Oxygen: ________________________
Air: ________________________
Salt water: ________________________
Sea water: ________________________
Helium: ________________________
4. Mercury has a density of 13.6 g/cm3. If I need 25.0 grams of
mercury, how many milliliters should I pour?
Of the following, circle those that are chemical changes and underline
those that are physical changes.
melting butter
baking brownies
boiling water
freezing alcohol
popping popcorn
melting steel
shaking Sprite
mixing vinegar/baking soda to generate bubbles
Characteristics of Matter Practice Test
6. What is the volume of a piece of aluminum if it has a mass of 125
grams?
1. How much energy is required to increase the temperature of a 250 g
iron pot from 28ºC to 190ºC?
7. How much energy is required to heat 200 g water from room
temperature (25ºC) to boiling (100ºC)?
2. What is the mass of an copper skillet if its temperature increases
150ºC when 12000 J of energy are added to it?
8. List 5 physical characteristic of matter.
9. List 3 chemical characteristics of matter.
3. 3000 J of energy are added to a 135 g silver spoon. If the original
temperature of the spoon is 26ºC, what is the new temperature of the
spoon after the energy is added?
10. List four examples of a physical change.
4. When 878 J of energy are added to a 125 g piece of metal, the
temperature of the metal increases from 22ºC to 40ºC. What is the
specific heat of this metal? What is the identity of this metal?
5. What is the density of a piece of metal if it has a mass of 28.0 grams
and a volume of 3.18 mL? What is this metal?
11. List four examples of a chemical change.
Common Specific Heat Capacities
Aluminum
.91 J/gC
Brass
.377 J/gC
Copper
.39 J/gC
Iron
.46 J/gC
Nickel
.54 J/gC
Tin
.21 J/gC
Silver
.24 J/gC
Water
4.184 J/gC
Densities of Common Metals
Aluminum
2.71 g/cm3
Brass
8.5 g/cm3
Gold
19.3 g/cm3
Iron
7.85 g/cm3
Nickel
8.8 g/cm3
Platinum
21.4 g/cm3
Silver
10.5 g/cm3
Tin
7.28 g/cm3
Titanium
4.5 g/cm3
HONORS Lab 1: Specific Heat Capacity and Density
of an Unknown Metal
Purpose To calculate the specific heat capacity and density of a metal and
to use this information to identify the metal.
Apparatus 250mL beaker, 2 coffee cups, 100mL measuring cylinder, hot
plate, tongs, 2 thermometers, balance
Assume specific heat capacity of water to be 4.184J/g oC.
Assume all the heat lost by the hot metal is transferred to the cold water.
Assume the accepted value of specific heat capacity of iron to be 0.45J/g oC.
Assume the accepted value of specific heat capacity of copper to be
0.385J/goC.
Assume the accepted value of specific heat capacity of aluminum to be
0.89J/goC.
Data Tables
Chemicals Water, sample of metal
TABLE A
Procedure
Mass of metal sample
1. Place the metal sample on the balance and record the mass in table A.
Initial temperature of water in coffee
cup calorimeter
2. Using the measuring cylinder add exactly 120mL of water to a “double
coffee cup calorimeter”. Using a thermometer record the temperature of the
water in table A and in table B. Set it aside.
3. Fill a 250mL beaker approximately half full with water and place it on the
hot plate. Carefully add the metal sample. Adjust the hot plate to a mediumhigh heat setting. Using another thermometer, monitor the temperature of the
water as it heats up and continue heating until the water temperature
reaches approximately 90oC.
4. When the water reaches approximately 90oC, turn off the hot plate and
remove the beaker.
5. Using tongs, carefully transfer the metal sample from the hot water to the
“double coffee cup calorimeter”. At this point record the temperature of the
hot water in table A.
6. Slowly sir the contents of the “double coffee cup calorimeter”, recording
the temperature every 30 seconds in table B. Continue to record the
temperature until a maximum temperature has been reached.
7. Dry the piece of metal. Obtain a 100 ml graduated cylinder. Place about
30 mls of water in the graduated cylinder and record the exact volume to 0.1
mL in the data table. Carefully and slowly drop the metal into the cylinder
and record the new volume to 0.1 mL in the data table. Empty the graduated
cylinder and return the metal to the prep table.
Assumptions
Assume the temperature of the sample of metal is the same as the hot water.
Assume the density of water to be 1g/mL.
Temperature of hot water (metal)
Initial volume of water in graduated
cylinder
Final volume of water in graduated
cylinder with metal cylinder submerged
Water temperature in coffee cup calorimeter
Time in seconds
Temperature
0
30
60
90
120
150
180
210
240
270
300
330
360
Conclusion/Calculation (Complete this after you have finished the lab.)
1. Using the following relationships calculate the specific heat capacity of the
metal and compare your result to the accepted value.
Heat gained by wate r= (mass of water) x (cp of water) x (temp change of water)
Heat lost from metal = (mass of metal) x (cp of metal) x (temp change of metal)
2. Calculate the density of the metal. d = m/v
Remember that you can determine the volume of the cylinder by the
displacement of water in the graduated cylinder (final volume - initial volume).
3. Identify two possible errors in your experiment.
4. Using a table of common densities and a table of common specific heats,
propose the cylinder's metal.