Page |1

PHYS 2202 LAB: Physics II

Week 08

Electrical Equivalent of Heat- Joule Heating of a Resistor

by

Naeamah Rabeea

Due Date: 31/03/2021

Submission’s Date: 31/03/2021

 Page |2

Objective

The main objective of this lab is to demonstrate that the rise in temperature of the system is
proportional to the electrical energy input and to determine the experimental value for J to
compare with the known value.

Equipment Used

Immersion heater coil to fit standard calorimeter, Calorimeter and thermometer, Direct
current power supply (5A at 6 V), Ammeter (0-5A), Voltmeter (0-10 V), Laboratory timer,
Laboratory balance and calibrated masses

Theory

The power P absorbed in an electrical resistor of resistance A, current I, and voltage V is

given by,

V2
P=I 2 R= =VI … ..(1)
R

It is commonly referred to as joule heat. Power is energy per unit time, and if the power ls
constant, the energy 𝐸 delivered in time 𝑡 is given by

E=Pt … ..(2)

Substituting eq (1) into eq (2) gives the following expression tor the electrical energy:

E=VIt … ..(3)

When a resistor absorbs electrical energy, it dissipates this energy in the form of heat 𝑄. If the
resistor is placed in a calorimeter, the amount of heat produced can be measured when it is
absorbed in the calorimeter.

Consider the experimental arrangement shown in Figure 1 below in which a resistor coil (also
called an immersion heater) is immersed in the water in a calorimeter. The heat 𝑄 produced
in the resistor is absorbed by the water, calorimeter cup, and the resistor coil itself. This heat
𝑄 produces a rise in temperature Δ𝑇. The heat 𝑄 is related to Δ𝑇 by,

Q=( mw c w +mc c c +m R c R ) ( ΔT ) … ..(4)

where the 𝑚′𝑠 and 𝑐′𝑠 are the masses and specific heats of the water, calorimeter, and the
resistor.
 Page |3

Figure 1: Experimental arrangement for the calorimetric measurement of

the heat produced in an immersion heater by an electrical current

Let 𝑚𝑐 stand for the sum of the product of mass and specific heat for the three objects that
absorb the heat. In those terms the heat a is given by the following:

Q=mcΔT

A given amount of electrical energy absorbed in the resistor (in units of joules) produces a
fixed amount of heat (in units of calories). The constant ratio between the two has the value:

J = 4.186 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠/𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒

The equality of those two energies is expressed as

U ( joules )=J ( joules /calorie)Q( calories)… ..(6)

where J represents the conversion from joules to calories.

Using the expression for 𝑈 and 𝑄 from eq (3) and eq (5) in eq (6) leads to

VIt ( joules ) =J ( joules /calorie) mcΔT (calories)… ..(7)

Procedure

 We will determine the mass mC of the calorimeter cup and record it in the Table 1
below.
 Then, we will obtain the specific heat of the calorimeter cup cc, the mass of the
resistor coil mR, and its specific heat cR and will record them in Table 1 below.
 Then, we will place enough water in the calorimeter cup to completely immerse the
resistor coil and will determine the mass of the water plus the calorimeter cup and will
record it in Table 1 below.
 Page |4

 Then, we will place the immersion heater in the calorimeter cup and will construct the
circuit given in the lab manual.
 We will turn on the power supply and will adjust the current to about a. amperes and
turn off the supply with the output level still adjusted to the setting which produced 2
amperes.
 Then, we will stir the system several minutes to allow it to come to equilibrium and
will determine the initial temperature 𝑇𝑖 and record it in Table 1 below.
 Then, we will turn on the power supply and simultaneously start the laboratory timer
to record the initial values of the current 𝐼 and the voltage 𝑉 in Table 1 below.
 We will let the timer run continuously and stir the system and measure and record the
temperature 𝑇, the current 𝐼, and the voltage 𝑉 every 60 seconds for eight minutes to
record all data in Table 1 below.
 Finally, we will perform the calculations to calculate the mC, temperature rise Δ𝑇
above the initial temperature 𝑇𝑖 for each of the measured values of 𝑇, 𝑚𝑐Δ𝑇 for each
case, product 𝑉𝐼 for each measurement of the voltage 𝑉 and current 𝐼, mean 𝑉𝐼 and
standard deviation of the mean 𝜎𝑚𝑉𝐼 for the values of 𝑉𝐼, quantity 𝑉𝐼𝑡 for each time 𝑡,
slope 𝐽𝑒𝑥𝑝, the intercept 𝐴, and the correlation coefficient 𝑟 linear least squares fit and
the percentage error in the value of 𝐽𝑒𝑥𝑝 and will record the results in Table 2 below.

Data Analysis

Mass calorimeter + water = 230.2g Ti = 25oC

Mass calorimeter = 30.2g c for calorimeter = 0.22 cal/gm. oC
Mass water = 200g c for water = 1.01 cal/gm. oC
Let mrcr = me = the water equivalent in grams of heat mg coil etc = 6 gms
t (sec) V (volts) I (amperes) T (oC)

0 4.8 4 25
60 5 4 27
120 5.1 4 28
180 5.1 4 29.8
240 5.1 4 31
300 5.1 4 32
 Page |5

360 5.1 4 33.5

420 5.1 4 35
480 5.1 4 36
Table 1: Data Table
Δ𝑇 (oC) mcΔ𝑇 (calories) VI (watts) VI t (joules)

0 0 19.2 0
2 425.288 20 1200
3 637.932 20.4 2448
4.8 1020.69 20.4 3672
6 1275.86 20.4 4896
7 1488.5 20.4 6120
8.5 1807.47 20.4 7344
10 2126.44 20.4 8568
11 2339.08 20.4 9792
VI = 20.22 watts 𝜎𝑚𝑉𝐼 = 0.38 watts
J𝑒𝑥𝑝 = 4.2388 joule/cal A = 344.47 joules r = 0.9977
Percentage Error in experimental J = 0.012%
Table 2: Calculations Table
Q=mc ΔT =( mw c w + mc c c +mR c R ) ( ΔT )

Case 1: mc ΔT = ( 200∗1+30.2∗0.22+ 6 ) ( 0 )=0 calories

Case 2: mc ΔT = ( 200∗1+30.2∗0.22+ 6 ) ( 2 )=425.288 calories
Case 3: mc ΔT = ( 200∗1+30.2∗0.22+ 6 ) ( 3 )=637.932 calories
Case 4: mc ΔT = ( 200∗1+30.2∗0.22+ 6 ) ( 4.8 ) =1020.69 calories
Case 5: mc ΔT = ( 200∗1+30.2∗0.22+ 6 ) ( 6 )=1275.86 calories
Case 6: mc ΔT = ( 200∗1+30.2∗0.22+ 6 ) ( 7 )=1488.5 calories
Case 7: mc ΔT = ( 200∗1+30.2∗0.22+ 6 ) ( 8.5 )=1807.47 calories
Case 8: mc ΔT = ( 200∗1+30.2∗0.22+ 6 ) ( 10 )=2126.44 calories
Case 9: mc ΔT = ( 200∗1+30.2∗0.22+ 6 ) ( 11 )=2339.08 calories
 Page |6

The slope or Jexp from the graph is 4.2388 joule/cal.

The y-intercept from the graph is 344.47 joules
Value of R2 from the graph is 0.9955. The value of r will be sqrt (0.9955) = 0.9977
Jtheory = 4.186 joule/cal
Percentage Error in experimental J = (4.2388 – 4.186)/4.186 = 0.012%
Conclusion

We performed this lab to demonstrate that the rise in temperature of the system is
proportional to the electrical energy input and to determine the experimental value for J to
compare with the known value. The formulas used in the lab were
Q=( mw c w +mc c c +m R c R ) ( ΔT ) and Q=mcΔT . All the experiment results and obtained graphs
are listed in the tabular form in the data analysis section of the report. The obtained results are
as per the expectation since the obtained value of J 4.2388 is quite close to the actual value of
J 4.186. The percentage error between the two is 0.012%.