Name: _____________________________________________ Date: ________________________ Period: ________
Heat and Energy
Calorimetry Lab Report
Instructions: Over the next few weeks, you will be working to create and carry out an experiment and write a lab report
discussing your results. You can use this document as a reference while you work, as it contains the rubric and guidelines for the
assignment, some resources you may find helpful, the assignment itself, and a timeline for your lab report. Please read this
document carefully, as this is a weighty assignment, both in terms of the points it is worth towards your grade and in terms of the
content required to create an excellent result.
What are we studying?
Throughout the past weeks, we have made an extensive study of heat and calorimetry. We have learned
how to measure the amount of heat gained or lost by an object, as well as how heat may be transferred
from one object to another. Thus far, however, our experiments have been limited to combining two
objects of different temperatures and measuring the resulting changes. In this experiment, we seek to
measure the amount of energy contained inside an item of food. To do this, we cannot simply heat the food
up – we need to create a chemical reaction to measure the energy inside. Thus, we will burn the food item
to release the energy stored inside.
Lab Report Question:
To complete this lab report, you will need to develop an experimental procedure and select appropriate
data analysis to answer both of the following questions:
1) How can you measure the energy content in food items?
2) Using your method from question #1, can you differentiate between healthy and unhealthy versions of
your food item? – THIS QUESTION IS WHERE YOUR NULL AND ALTERNATE HYPOTHESES COME IN.
3) How does your method of measurement (your results for Calories in your food items per gram) compare
to the information provided on the nutrition labels? Can you conclude that your method is adequate as a
means to answer question #1?
Timeline for Calorimetry Lab Report:
All due date times are at the beginning of class unless otherwise specified in the table below.
Due Date and Time
11 February,
end of class
12 February,
end of class
18 February,
end of class
19 February
21 February
24 February
25 February
26 February
26 February,
end of class
3 March
3 March,
by midnight
Portion Due
Specific Heat of Unknown Metal Experiment (Pr2CW1)
Points Possible
100
Project Intro and Calculations (Pr2CW2)
50
Calorimetry Project Proposal (Pr2CW3)
40
Calorimetry Practice Calculations (Pr2HW1)
Materials and Methods Rough Draft (Pr2HW2)
Background Info Article (Pr2HW3)
Results Rough Draft (Pr2HW4)
Discussion Rough Draft (Pr2HW5)
Lab Notebook (Pr2.1), Rough Draft (Pr2.2), Peer Edit
(Pr2CW5)
Class Participation and Safe Lab Technique (Pr2CW4,
Pr2Part)
Final Lab Report (Pr2.3)
40
50
50
75
50
100, 100, 50
150, 250
150
*There will be a strict policy regarding lateness for this lab report and all of its parts. Assignments turned in late but on the same
day as due will be assessed a 10% late penalty. Assignments turned in after the date due will be assessed a 20% late penalty per
day after deadline. This policy is not only to help keep you on track towards completion of your essay on time but also to insure
adequate time for editing and feedback. Thank you in advance for the caliber of work I know I will receive! – Ms. M*
Guidelines
- Final report must be typed in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font
- Final lab report must follow guidelines as outlined in lab report guidelines handout
- All figures must include a title and a figure number, as well as a key if necessary
- Lab report WILL NOT be graded without Works Cited page AND in-text citations (citation
information provided on Pr2HW3)
- Lab report must include information from the background articles read (Pr2HW3)
Citing Sources:
Whenever you use someone else’s words or ideas, or you state facts that you found in one of your sources,
you are responsible for citing the source. For this essay, we will be using MLA format both for our Works
Cited page and for in-text citations. In-text citations will be used throughout your essay in order to let me
know where your information came from. For example, if you say that 14% of the world’s electricity
currently comes from nuclear power plants, I’m fairly confident that you did not calculate that number
yourself. After the statement, you need to include an in-text citation to cite the source, which we will be
discussing in class.
Resources:
Throughout this process, you will be given access to a myriad of resources to help you as you (1) find
reputable sources, (2) cite sources, (3) develop your report, and (4) undertake the writing and rewriting
process. In order to streamline the process as much as possible, I will be posting the articles, documents,
and links on our class Wiki (msmhonorschem.wikispaces.com). To access the documents, click on the
Calorimetry Lab Report tab on the right navigation.
Additionally, if you have any questions or need any additional support, please do not hesitate to contact
me or to reach out to our librarian, Mrs. Bascho-George.
If you should need me for any reason and are lacking my information, please find it listed below.
Ms. Montgomery
(443) 844 – 7998
eamontgomery@bcps.k12.md.us