Name:_____________________________________

Period:_______

Date:____________________

Energy Forms and Changes Simulations.

Purpose
1) To understand how Specific Heat Capacity dictates the amount of energy
needed to raise the temperature of an object.
2) To understand that low Specific Heat Capacity means that little energy is
needed to raise the temperature of an object and high Specific Heat Capacity
means that more energy is needed to raise the temperature of an object.
Download the Simulation:
1) Go to http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/legacy/energy-forms-andchanges and click on the Play button. A bar will pop up on the bottom left

hand side of the screen. Click Keep.

This will allow the program to download. When it is finished, you will see a
box titled energy-forms-and-cjnlp on the bottom left of the screen. Click it
to start the simulation.

2) If a text box opens asking you to update Java, click Ignore. A text box will
open asking if you want to run the program. Click run

3) You should have the simulation up and running now.

Name:_____________________________________
Period:_______

Date:____________________

Procedures:
1) Drag the water onto one of the stands. Drag a thermometer into the water.
2) Push the temperature bar all the way up and time how long it takes for the
water to reach its maximum temperature. Record your data in the data table
below.
3) Move the water back to the floor area.
4) Drag the brick to the stand and drag a thermometer so that it is touching the
brick.
5) Push the temperature bar all the way up and time how long it takes for the
brick to reach its maximum temperature. Record your data in the data table
below.
6) Move the brick back to the floor area.
7) Drag the iron to the stand and drag a thermometer so that it is touching the
iron.
8) Push the temperature bar all the way up and time how long it takes for the
iron to reach its maximum temperature. Record your data in the data table
below.
9) Repeat steps 1-8 two more times so that you have three data points for each
material. MAKE SURE THAT EACH MATERIAL IS BACK AT ROOM
TEMPERATURE BEFORE HEATING IT UP AGAIN.
10)
Take the average time for all of the materials and record in your data
table.
Data Table:
Material
Water
Brick, common
Iron

Trial 1
16.15
5.74
9.51

Trial 2
18.14
7.70
8.96

Trial 3
17.67
7.92
9.68

Average
17.32
7.12
9.38N

Analysis:
1) Which material took the longest time to heat up?
Water
2) Which material took the shortest time to up?
Brick
3) All three materials were heated to the same temperature. Which material
had the most energy (heat) at that temperature?
Water
4) The specific heat capacity of an object is the amount of heat required to raise
the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1C. Which material do you
think had the highest specific heat?
Water

Name:_____________________________________
Period:_______

Date:____________________

5) Look up the specific heats of each material and write them below. Was your
prediction in #4 above correct? Explain.
Yes, because water has the highest specific energy 4.179
Conclusion:
1) What does it mean about energy needed to heat up an object if that object
has a low specific heat? If the object has a high specific heat?

2) Aluminum has a specific heat of 0.89 J/gC. Copper has a specific heat of
0.385 J/gC. Carbon steel has a specific heat of 0.49 J/gC. All three metals
are heated to 100C. Which metal needs the most energy to get to 100C?
Which needs the least? Explain how you know this.
Aluminum
Because it has higher specific energy which makes it need more energy to
heat up

3) The specific heat of glass is about 0.67 J/gC. Explain in terms of heat energy
why we use a lot of glass ware to heat things in lab and at home.
To slow down the heating process and wont go by that fast

4) The specific heat of rubber is 4.1 J/gC. Explain in terms of heat energy why
rubber can be used to insulate against heat.
Because it slow and it doesnt transfer heat as fast

5) How can specific heat be used to identify a substance?

Specific heat is an intensive property that does not depend on the amount of
a substance present. This allows substances to be identified using their
specific heat.