Introduction:

Newtons law of cooling was experimentally observed after heating a copper tube and recording
the drop in temperature with time. The recorded times and natural log of the changes in
temperature were used to make a graph, which allowed for the determination of the time constant
.
Theory:
According to Newtons law of cooling, the rate of heat flow of an object is proportional to the
temperature difference between the temperature and its surroundings.
dQ/dt = -kT
From this equation K is a constant and T = T-Ts, in which Ts is the temperature of the
surrounding air.
After differentiating with respect to time from the equation Q=mCT, the following equation
arises: dQ/dt=mc(dT/dt)
When the right hand side of this equation is applied to the first equation of dQ/dt=-kT, then the
following equation arises: mc(dT/dt)=-kT, which can be manipulated into dT/T=(-k/mc)dt.
Both sides of the equation are then integrated:

/( )=0 ( ) Ln(T-Ts)- Ln(To-Ts)= -kt/mc Ln[(T-Ts)/(To-Ts)]=-kt/mc

Take both sides of the equation to the power of e: (T-Ts)/(To-Ts)=e-kt/mc
Then Multiply both sides of the equation by (To-Ts):
T-Ts=(To-Ts)e-kt/mc

T=(To-Ts)e-kt/mc

Because = mc/k, the equation simplifies to T=(To-Ts)e^(-t/ )

Procedure:
Assemble the station in accordance with the diagram of the lab manual. Ensure that the
thermometer is not touching the sides of the copper tube. Rather, it should be directly centered
inside of the tube. Heat the tube with a propane torch uniformly along its length to a temperature
between 125C and 150C. After the temperature has stabilized, it shall be recorded as To. The
temperature shall be recorded at 15 second intervals for the first two minutes, then at 30 second
intervals for the next seven minutes.

Analysis and Discussion:

After viewing the graph of LnT vs. time, it is evident that the trendline has a greater slope
towards the far left of the graph, which consists of higher temperatures and lower time values.
On the other hand, there is less slope towards the far right of the graph, which consists of lower
temperatures and higher time values. The slope represents the rate of change of heat loss.
According to Newtons law of cooling, the rate of heat loss of a cooling body is proportional to
the difference in temperatures between the body and its surroundings. The far left of the graph
has a greater difference between the tubes temperatures and the surrounding temperature, while
the far right of the graph contains smaller differences between the tubes temperature and the
surrounding temperature. Because the far left of the graph has greater slope than the far right of
the graph, it may be concluded that the rate of heat loss is proportional to the difference between
the tube and the surrounding temperature. Thus, the experiment confirmed Newtons law of
cooling.
The maximum slope occurs between 150 and 180 seconds, producing a slope of -0.00191. The
minimum slope appears to appear at the very bottom right of the graph, between 840 and 810
seconds, which produces a slope of -0.0010. From Microsoft Excels linear trendline, the best fit
slope resulted in -0.0027. These slope values were used to find the % slope error:
% slope error= (max slope-min slope)/2(best fit slope) = (-.00191+.0010)/[2(-.0027)] = 16.85%
The slope error of 16.85% suggests that either personal error or experimental equipment may
have provided faulty results.
From the equation T=(To-Ts)e^(-t/ ), taking the natural log on both sides produces:
LnT=Ln(To-Ts)-t/
This equation reflects the slope-intercept form of the equation y=mx+b. Because time is the xcoordinate on the graph, -1/ is the slope of the graph. may be calculated by equating -1/
to the slope from the graph.
-1/ =-0.0027

=1/0.0027=370.4

Conclusion:
The experiment provided for successful observation of Newtons law of cooling. From the graph,
it is evident that the temperature of the body declines as time increases. The graph also illustrates
that the rate of the tubes heat loss is proportional to the temperature of the tube and the
surrounding temperature. The slope of the graph allowed for the determination of = 370.4.
The 16.85% slope error may be attributed to slight faults in the equipment used in the
experiment. It is possible that the thermometer used may have not recorded the exact temperature
of the copper tube, for the thermometer was not in direct contact with the tube but was rather
measuring the air temperature just near the copper. This may have provided slightly incorrect
measurements of the tube that may have disrupted the accuracy of finding slope from the
experiments equations. A thermometer that can record temperature by direct contact with the
thermometer may possibly provide more accurate measurements. Also, personal error may have
attributed to the 16.85% slope error. Exact temperatures may have not been recorded at the exact
time intervals of 15 and 30 seconds, which may have provided just enough of measurement
errors to disrupt the accuracy in calculating slope.

Newtons Law of Cooling

The experiment was focused to observe Newtons law of cooling and to determine the time
constant from the equation T=(To-Ts)e^(-t/ ). Tools used in the experiment included a
propane torch, a copper tube, a thermometer, and a stopwatch, all of which were used to record
temperature decrease of the copper tube in relation to time. The measurements provided for a
graph of LnT vs. t, where T is the temperature difference between the copper tube and the
surrounding air temperature and t is time. The graph provided a slope that could be used to find
=370.4 The graph was also used to find a slope error of 16.85%. The varying slopes of the
graph verified Newtons law of cooling, in which the rate of heat loss of a cooling body is
proportional to the difference in temperatures between the body and its surroundings.

William Drury
Alejandro Bolanos

PHYS M20BL-32487
4 February, 2015

Questions:
1. Ln[(T-Ts)/(To-Ts)]=-t/
To-Ts=122.5;
1 % of (To-Ts)=121.275
t=- Ln[(T-Ts)/(To-Ts)]= 370.4*Ln(121.275/122.5)= 3.72 seconds
3. Because the initial temperature To is in the equation t=- Ln[(T-Ts)/(To-Ts)], time must
depend on intial temperature.