FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

LABORATORY REPORT
PHY400

SESSION 2 2021/2022

Experiment No. 3
& Topic : Specific Heats

Name of Student
& Student No. : 1) Putri Balqis Binti Rashid (2022971621)
2) Nur Aslina Binti Abdul Rahim (2022905201)

Program : AS253

Group : AS2531A & AS2531C

1.0 OBJECTIVE

To investigate and to measure the specific heat of several different substances which was
Iron, Lead and Copper.

2.0 THEORY

For a given temperature change, various substances requiring different amounts of

heat. The amount of heat required to change a given substance's temperature by one degree is
known as its heat capacity. The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one
kilograms of a given substance by one degree Celsius or kelvin is known as the specific heat
that characterizes the substance.

The relationship between the heat supplied (Q) to the mass (m), the temperature
increase (T) and the specific heat (c) of the substance is given by the following equation.

Q = MC T

The method of mixtures, which involves mixing a hotter substance with a substance
at a lower temperature, can be used to determine a substance's specific heat. Up until they
reach an equal equilibrium temperature, the hotter substance will lose heat while the colder
substance will gain heat. The unknown component, such as the specific heat, can be
determined by applying the conservation of energy to the mixed system, provided that other
variables, such as masses and temperature changes, are known.

Heat energy lost by the specimen = Heat energy gained by the water.
3.0 APPARATUS

1. Hot plate
2. Beaker
3. Thermometer
4. Metal blocks (Fe, Pb, and Cu)
5. String
6. Calorimeter
7. Analytical balance

4.0 PROCEDURE

1. Weigh the mass of Fe block by using analytical balance and record the mass.
2. Fill the tap water into the cup of calorimeter and record the initial temperature of
water.
3. Tie string to the Fe block and hold it in the water boiling
4. Record the initial temperature of Fe block
5. Remove the block from the boiling water to the water in the calorimeter and stir it
around
6. Record the final temperature of Fe block and water in the calorimeter
7. Repeat all the steps by using Pb and Cu blocks.
5.0 RESULT

Mass of Calorimeter, (Mc) (kg): 0.376 kg

Mass of calorimeter + water (Kg)(Mw): 0.4451 kg

Heat capacity of the calorimeter (Cs): 328.2 J/kg∙°C

Initial temperature Equilibrium Changes in

Block Masses (kg)
(°C) temperature(°C) temperature(°C)

Mmetal Mwater Timetal Tiwater Tt Tmetal

Cu 0.059 69.1 99.4 25.2 28.7 70.7

Pb 0.076 69.1 99.3 25.2 27.2 72.1

Fe 0.067 69.1 99.5 25.2 30 69.5

6.0 ANALYSIS

A calorimeter is used in a calorimetry experiment to find the specific heat capacity

of metal. Calorimetry is the measurement of changes in state variables to ascertain the heat
transfer associated with changes in a body's state resulting from chemical processes or phase
transitions under constraints. According to the basic calorimetry equation, the heat that a
reaction loses (Qlost = Qreaction) is gained by the water and calorimeter in the immediate
vicinity (Qgained = Qwater + Qcalorimeter). So, using the experiment, we may determine the metal's
specific heat capacity (copper, lead and ferrum) CCu obtained from the experiment is 346.25
J/kg∙°C while the theoretical is 389.0 J/kg. ˚C and CPb is 150.62 J/kg∙°C and its theoretical
value is 130.0 J/kg∙°C. Meanwhile, CFe obtained from the experiment is 425.38 J/kg∙°C while
the theoretical is 460.0 J/kg. ˚C.
Calculation of specific heat capacity of each element:
 Systematic and random error could be the cause of the varied specific heat capacity
value that was obtained compared to their theoretical value. One of the potential mistakes
was when the metal block touched the heated beaker.

The temperature would be impacted by the heat transmission. Another inaccuracy

occurs when the block from the hot water is inserted into the calorimeter slowly. The
temperature will slightly fall when the block is exposed to the environment, which will
impact the temperature.

By performing a further inspection with all the measurements before heating the
beaker, this error can be prevented. We should speed up the block's immersion in the
calorimeter to obtain an accurate value. To verify the precise result, the experiment can be
repeated from the beginning.

The uncertainties calculation:

7.0 CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, we as the experimenters achieved the desired objective which is

we determined the specific heat of a metal after running this experiment. We able to get a
proper result by using three kinds of metal blocks which are Fe, Pb and Cu. Based on these
three blocks, we can see that different metal block will have their own specific heat. After
made a complete calculation and we decided that the high specific heat of metal block is goes
to Pb block. We also concerned the uncertainty of the value in our result due to some
experimental errors and we able to overcome it very well during experiment.
8.0 PRE-LAB QUESTIONS

1. Define heat capacity and specific heat of a substance? State the SI units for these
quantities.
- Heat capacity is the quantity of heat required to increase the temperature of an
object by 1℃ or K and it is an extensive property.
- Specific heat is the quantity of heat needed per mass to raise the temperature of
the substance by 1℃ (or K) and it is an intensive property.
- The SI units for these quantities is Joule per kelvin or J/K

2. What is the method of mixtures and how is it used to determine the specific heat?
The method of mixtures known as mixture method. It used by putting a hot metal
block in the water in calorimeter then the mixture is stirred continuously, and the
highest temperature recorded with the thermometer.

3. What are the possible sources of error of the mixture method? Would this be random
or systematic errors?
The possible sources of error of the mixture method can be the loss of heat during
transferring the metal blocks from boiling water to the calorimeter, the loss of heat of
the calorimeter itself, and the precision of the mass and temperature. All these errors
can be the random errors during running the experiment.

4. A metal of mass mx with an initial high temperature Tx is added to water in a

calorimeter, where both the water (mw) and the calorimeter and stirrer (mcs) are at an
initial temperature of Tw which is lower than Tx. The mixture of metal and water
inside the calorimeter is stirred until the system is in thermal equilibrium at
temperature Tf. By assuming that all the heat from the metal is transferred to the
water, calorimeter, and stirrer without any heat loss to the surrounding, show that the
specific heat of the metal is given by:

where cx, cw and ccs are the specific heats of the metal, water, and calorimeter plus
stirrer respectively.
 From that physics’ equation,

mx × cx × (Tx – Tf) = mw × cw × (Tf – Tw) + mcs × ccs (Tf – Tw)

From the above equation, we created a new equation as this below equation:
Cx = (mwcw + mcsccs) × (Tf – Tw)
Mx (Tx – Tf)

5. What is the underlying conservation law used to derive equation 1 in step 3?

The underlying conservation law used to derive equation 1 in step 3 in this
experiment is known as the specific heat capacity. It stated that the loss of heat by
three kinds of cube is same as the heat gain by the water in the calorimeter. A physic
formula can be used for specific heat capacity is T = mc∆T. it showed the energy out
is same as the energy enter to the object.
9.0 POST-LAB QUESTIONS

1. State the assumptions in this experiment.

The high mass of the block, so the heat capacity also increases. Instead of that, there
is no loss of heat occur during the experiment because the exchange of heat happens
between the metal blocks and the water. The heat energy pass through to the wall of
the calorimeter and the calorimeter transfer heat energy by itself.

2. From your experimental results, what can you conclude about the material of the
metal block based on the values of specific heats given in Table 1?

From our experimental results, we can conclude that the material of metal blocks by
the changes of the temperature. The specific heat is determined by the ability of the
metal blocks to absorb the heat energy. Based on this experiment,

3. If some hot water is still on the metal block when you transfer it into the water in the
calorimeter, how would the experimental value of the specific heat have been
affected?

If some hot water is still on the metal block when you transfer it into the water in the
calorimeter, the experimental value is higher than the actual value due to some heat
energy is heating up the calorimeter instead of the metal blocks. We can determine
the changes of experimental value by using the hot plate method. The boiling water
also will increase the initial mass of water before the hot water splashed.

4. If some water at room temperature in the calorimeter had splashed out when the
heated metal block is put into the calorimeter, how would the experimental value of
the specific heat have been affected?

If some water at room temperature in the calorimeter had splashed out when the
heated metal block is put into the calorimeter, the of water will decrease. This is
 because from the formula Q = mc∆T, we can see that volume of water did not give
any effect to the temperature of water. If the mass of water decrease, the temperature
of water still increases during heating process. The unit of specific heat capacity are
J/ (Kg℃) or J/ (Kg K).

5. In solar heating applications, heat energy is stored in some medium until it is needed.
Should this medium have a low or high specific heat? Explain.

The medium for storing heat energy of the solar heating system is very important to
the temperature adjustment, so this medium must the high specific heat capacity. If
we a higher specific heat, we can store more thermal energy at a lower temperature
before the medium melts.
10.0 REFERENCES

• Helmenstine, A. M. (2020, January 23). Thought.Co. Retrieved from Specific Heat

Capacity Definition: https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-specific-heat-capacity-
605672

• IsaacsTEACH. (2012, March 12). lumenlearning. Retrieved from Specific Heat:

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-physics/chapter/specific-heat/

• K., S. (2017, May 02). Errors in the Determination of Water Equivalence of the
Calorimeter during Experimentation of Undergraduate Students: An Analysis.
Retrieved from Scientific and Academic publishing:
http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.jlce.20170502.01.html