Feyza Seluk 9-C

HSAN DORAMACI FOUNDATION BLKENT ERZURUM LABORATORY SCHOOL 2nd Semester 2011-2012 Academic Year 9th Grade Physics

LAB REPORT

Name: Feyza Seluk

Topic: Specific Heat Capacity of Normal Tap Water

Feyza Seluk 9-C

Research Question: Specific heat capacity of pure water is known as 4200 J/(kgoC). But
what is the specific heat capacity of normal tap water?

Hypothesis: In my opinion, normal tap water will have a different specific heat capacity
than water because it is not pure.

Introduction:
The specific heat capacity of a solid or liquid is defined as the heat required raising unit mass of substance by one degree of temperature. It is Formula is:

Where m is mass of substance, c is specific heat capacity, and

is change in temperature.

The aim of this experiment is to find the specific heat capacity of normal tap water. To find the energy transferred, this formula can be used:

where power is known as 1000 W. (the kettle which is used to heat the water in experiment has 1000 W rating)

Feyza Seluk 9-C

Experimental Setup:
Before start to the experiment, area of experiment, equipments and safety should be controlled. List of Equipment: Kettle ( liter capacity, 1000 W rating) Thermometer Stopwatch Tap water ( kg) To get more reliable results, the experiment should be repeated at least 4 times (or more.) For each experiment, make sure that all items are ready.

Procedure to Follow: Firstly, prepare the apparatus needed during the experiment. Fill the kettle with water. Make sure that it is kg. Then, measure the temperature of water before heating it, and record.
Monitor time by using stopwatch. Make sure that the water does not boil to prevent evaporating. After some time, measure the temperature of hot water and record it again. Repeat these procedures for 4 times and for the each repetition, determine a different time. Decide a temperature and heat water until it reaches this target. Measure the times passed. (to get more reliable result.) Last, use your recorded data to calculate the specific heat capacity.

Feyza Seluk 9-C

Data:
First Experiment: Time: Temp.: 0 second 26oC 45s 18oC 45th second 44 oC

The specific heat capacity of tap water found in this experiment is:

1000 W= energy/45s Energy = 45 000 J 45 000 J = kg x c x 18oC c = 5000 J/kg oC

Second Experiment: Time: Temp.: 0 second 17 oC 60s 24oC 60th second 41 oC

Feyza Seluk 9-C

The specific heat capacity of tap water found in this experiment is:

1000 W= energy/60s Energy = 60 000 J 60 000 J = kg x c x 24oC c = 5000 J/kg oC

Third Experiment: Time: Temp: 0 second 13 oC 75s 34oC 75th second 47 oC

The specific heat capacity of tap water found in this experiment is:

1000 W= energy/75s

Feyza Seluk 9-C

Energy = 75 000 J 75 000 J = kg x c x 34oC C = 4411 J/kg oC (approximately)

Fourth Experiment: Time: Temp: 0 second 19 oC 90s 37oC 90th second 56oC

The specific heat capacity of tap water found in this experiment is:

1000 W= energy/90s Energy = 90 000 J 90 000 J = kg x c x 37oC c = 4864 J/kg oC (approximately)

Feyza Seluk 9-C

Fifth Experiment: Time: Temp: 0 second 12oC 166s 68oC 166th second 80 oC

The specific heat capacity of tap water found in this experiment is:

1000 W= energy/166s Energy = 166 000 J 166 000 J = kg x c x 68oC c = 4882 J/kg oC

Data Result:
Experiment: 1st (for 2nd (for 3rd (for 4th (for 5th (for of 18oC) of 24oC) of 34oC) of 37oC) of 68oC) Specific Heat Capacity Found: (J/kg oC) 5000 J/kg oC 5000 J/kg oC 4411 J/kg oC 4864 J/kg oC 4882 J/kg oC

Feyza Seluk 9-C

According to these experiments, average specific heat capacity of tap water found is: 4831 J/kg oC.

Conclusion and Evaluation:

As a conclusion, we see the result is different from the specific heat capacity of pure water. Because tap water is not pure and it contains some other additives, its specific heat capacity is different. During the experiment, volume of water should be kept constant to get more reliable result because in this experiment time is our changeable factor. So change in volume of water would cause unreliable results. The other important thing is using kettle instead of Bunsen burner. If we used Bunsen burner, then the experiment would not be done fairly because we cannot provide the same conditionals for each repetition. Also, we make sure that thermometer just touches to water molecules because to get just water temperature, thermometer should be used very carefully. In other ways, thermometer will give us different results. To get more reliable result, this experiment can be re-done but by changing constant and independent values such as volume of water and time. In this experiment, average specific heat capacity of tap water is 4831 J/kg oC but by eliminating human errors and using more precise measuring techniques, we will be able to get more accurate and more consistent readings.