Procedure

1. Three metal samples are placed into a beaker of water and it is heated to at least 70 (oC) .Little water is used and it is made sure that it did not completely cover the three samples.

2. Mass of cold tap water is measured and poured into each of the Styrofoam cups. Initial temperature of water is measured.

3. The metal samples from the hot water is removed and placed in a separate Styrofoam cups of water. (the initial temperature of the metal is measured by measuring the temperature of water).The metal is entirely immersed .A lid is placed on the top of the cup and wait few minute for the water and metal to achieve thermal equilibrium .The final temperature is measured.

4. Heat gained by the water is determined which is equal to heat lost by the metal.

5. The specific heat of metal is calculated by knowing the heat loss by the metal ,its mass and change in temperature.

6. Compare the accepted value of the specific heat to calculate the percent error.

This experiment is to review the physical concepts and relationships associated with the flow of heat in and out of materials, and to understand the principle of conservation of energy as it applies to thermal energy. This experiment

also to determine the specific heat of metal in the temperature ranges between boiling water and room temperature. Heat is the energy associated with the thermally excited motion of atoms. When heat energy is added to a substance at constant pressure, its temperature usually rises. The exception to this rule occurs when there is a change of phase. A phase change occurs without increases or decrease in the substances temperature. If an object is isolated from the rest of the universe no heat can flow into or leave that object. As a result its temperature will remain unchanged. If the object brought into thermal contact with another object that is at a difference temperature heat will flow out of the object that is hotter and into that which is cooler. During this interaction heat is lost by the warmer substance and gained by the cooler substance. As a result the thermal energy of the hotter object will decrease and that of the cooler object will increase. Heat will continue to slow until the temperature of both objects is the same. At this instant they are said to be in thermal equilibrium. The amount of thermal energy that an object must absorb to change its temperature by one degree is called its heat capacity. The amount of thermal energy that a single gram of a specific material must absorb in order to change its temperature by one degree is the materials specific heat capacity, or specific heat. It is an important measurement for engineers and physicists who work with any material that changes its temperature or is designed to retain thermal energy. The specific heat of water is a standard to which specific heats of other substances are compared. In general, the value of the specific heat of a substance is predominantly a function of temperature, though small variation of the specific heat occurs due to variation in pressure or volume. In the experiment when thermal energy flows into or out of an object its temperature changes. The amounts of change depend on the mass of the object, the material from which the object is made, and also the temperature of the environment. The specific heat of material can be found using a known quantity of water and a calorimeter. The calorimeter is relatively well insulated so very little thermal energy will come from or go into the surrounding air. Assume that thermal

energy is conserved inside the calorimeter. This means that whatever thermal energy is gained or lost by an object (and there is no phase change of the object) put into the calorimeter is equal to the thermal energy gained or lost by water in the calorimeter. The equation describes that the change in thermal energy, Q (in cal.), depends on the mass, m(in g), the specific heat, c(cal./gC), and the change in temperature, T(C). Q=mcT When an unknown metal object is put into water in a calorimeter, the change in thermal energy of the object equals the change of thermal energy of water.

mobjectcobjectTobject = mwatercwaterTwater The initial temperature of the object and water will be different, but the final temperature which is equilibrium temperature will be the same. If an object absorbs heat, then Q is positive. If an object release heat, then Q is negative.