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An experiment to determine the specific heat of copper using the calorimetry method. The concept of specific heat, the historical definition of heat in terms of calories, and the conversion to joules. It also provides a detailed procedure for conducting the experiment, including the materials needed and the steps to take. The document concludes with the purpose of the experiment and the calculations to be performed.
What you will learn
Typology: Lecture notes
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Reminder – Goggles must be worn at all times in the lab
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a solid body depends on its change in temperature
The heat is calculated from the equation
The unit for c (^) p is thus heat per unit mass per unit temperature. The value of c (^) p does depend on the temperature. However, for the small temperature range we are interested in, it is a good approximation to regard c (^) p as temperature independent. Historically, heat (Q) was measured in terms of calories. The calorie
was defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 °C from 14.5 °C to 15.5 °C at 1 atmosphere pressure. With this definition, the specific heat of water is 1.00 cal/(g⋅°C). The use of the calorie began before it was established that heat is a form of energy and 1 calorie is equivalent to 4.18 J. The joule (J) has become the more favored unit in recent years. Thus, the units for c (^) p that we will use
are J/(g⋅°C). The specific heat of water is then 4.18 J/(g⋅°C).
When two bodies in an isolated system, initially at different temperatures, are placed in intimate contact with each other, in time they will come to equilibrium at some common intermediate temperature. Because of energy conservation, the quantity of heat lost by the hot object is equal to that gained by the cold object provided that no heat is lost to the surroundings. This is the basis for the method of calorimetry through mixture: A metal sample whose specific heat is to be determined is heated in boiling water to 100 °C. It is then quickly transferred to a Styrofoam calorimeter cup which contains a known volume of water of known temperature. When the metal specimen and the calorimeter (including the water) come to equilibrium, the final temperature is measured with a thermometer. It is assumed that the heat loss to the Styrofoam cup and thermometer is negligible and if the heat exchange with the environment is kept small, then the heat lost by the metal sample is equal to the total heat gained by the water.
To apply the experimental methods of calorimetry in the determination of the specific heat of a metal.
Copper plumbing fixtures LabPro with temperature probe Styrofoam cup Milligram balance 100 mL graduated cylinder Crucible tongs Hotplate
Trial #1 Trial #2 Trial #
CALCULATIONS: Show your work!
Trial #1 Trial #2 Trial #3 Average
Then calculate the average of these values for water.
answer, will be negative). Then calculate the average of these values for copper.
of pure water, 4.18 J/(g⋅°C), and we assume the density of the water was 1.00 gram/mL. Express your final answer in joules.
c (^) p copper = ___Q copper ___