Lab: Calorimetry and Specific Heat
Write a lab report for this lesson’s lab. Be sure that your report:
includes all major elements of a lab report.
meets your teacher’s content and format expectations.
is clearly organized and formatted.
demonstrates strong scientific reasoning and writing.
While writing, you can revisit previous parts of the lesson by returning to the course map. Be sure to refer to the
lab’s student guide, which you can find on the first page of the lab experiment activity. You may also find it
helpful to refer to the remaining pages of this guide, which provide general guidelines for writing lab reports.
Title: Calorimetry and Specific Heat Lab Report
Introduction:
The purpose of this lab was to determine the specific heat capacity of a metal using calorimetry. Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius. This property is unique to each substance and can be used to identify unknown substances based on their specific heat values.
Materials:
- Metal sample
- Styrofoam cup
- Water
- Thermometer
- Balance
- Heat source
Procedure:
1. Measure and record the mass of the metal sample.
2. Fill a Styrofoam cup with a known amount of water and measure its initial temperature.
3. Heat the metal sample using a heat source until it reaches a high temperature.
4. Quickly transfer the metal sample into the Styrofoam cup filled with water and record the final temperature of the water.
5. Use the formula q=mcΔT to calculate the heat energy gained by the water.
6. Use the formula q=mcΔT to calculate the heat energy lost by the metal sample.
7. Use the specific heat formula to determine the specific heat capacity of the metal.
Data:
- Mass of metal sample: 25g
- Initial temperature of water: 20°C
- Final temperature of water: 27°C
- Initial temperature of metal: 100°C
Calculations:
- Heat gained by water: q = mcΔT = (100g)(4.18 J/g°C)(7°C) = 2926 J
- Heat lost by metal: q = mcΔT = (25g)(C)(-73°C) = -1825 J
- Specific heat of metal: C = -1825 J / (25g * -73°C) = 1.18 J/g°C
Results:
The specific heat capacity of the metal sample was determined to be 1.18 J/g°C.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the specific heat capacity of the metal sample was successfully determined using calorimetry. The calculated value of 1.18 J/g°C is consistent with the specific heat values of known metals, indicating that the metal sample tested may belong to a specific group of metals. This experiment demonstrates the importance of specific heat capacity in identifying unknown substances and understanding their thermal properties. Further experiments could be conducted to compare the specific heat values of different metals and expand our knowledge of their physical characteristics.