Determining Specific Heat of Metals: Experiment and Results

Introduction

The reason for the lab is finding the particular heat for the metals.  In the experiment, a certain liquid is heated with the metal in it then left into the water at room temperature. As changes in the heat happen to indicate that the heat from the metal can be transferred through the water hence explaining why energy is impossible of creating and destroying. A substance was heated, the motion of its discrete particles increases, as a result, to increase in temperature. The more heat added to the substance per gram of a substance, the superior the temperature changes. The relationship of the heat added, to the mass of a substance, and the temperature varies as it undergoes named as specific heat. The experiment carried out was focusing on determining the specific heat of the metals and also making a comparison with the accepted values. 

Materials and Procedure

The results from the experiment indicated that Specific Heat is given by Energy change in calories / (Mass in grams’ temperature change in Celsius) Specific heat is referred to as the amount of energy required in producing a temperature change of 1°C per gram of substance. The specific heats of different metals are likely to be varying, and therefore this quantity may be important in the identification of an unknown. The measurement of heat changes is named calorimetry. In the lab, calorimetry was utilized in determining the specific heat of a metal. The was done by use of a Styrofoam cup calorimeter containing some liquid inside it. A calorimeter is insulated for minimizing any loss of energy to the surroundings. For that reason, when an animated piece of metal is placed into the calorimeter, all of the energy should be taken into account. Also, the energy released from the metal should be gained by the liquid, with nothing loosed into the surroundings. This is basing on the Conservation law of energy, which elaborates that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. It is assumed that there is no amount of heat is lost to the calorimeter. The energy released by metal is equivalent to the energy gained by the water.

Results

The results from the experiment gave the following result in determining the amount of heart in metal. Heat gained / lost: Q = Heat gained/lost

Q = m x C x ?TC = change in temp. of water m= mass of water mm = mass of metal

2. Specific Heat of metal: ?T= Change in temp. of waters = ___q ___?T metal = Change in temp. of metal mmx ?T metal
3. Percent error = (Accepted –Experimental) / Accepted) x100Specific Heat of Aluminum = 0.21 cal. / g°C1. Heat gained/lost

Results

Calculations: From the question we have:

Mass of the water =85g                        Mass of the metal = 25g

Initial Water temperature = 25 °C        Initial Metal temperature = 100°C

Final Water temperature = 27.5 °C      Final Metal temperature = 27.5 °C

C_W=4.184J/g C                                      C_M=?

Lets find specific heat of the metal:

?Q = M x C * ? t

C_M = ?Q/ m * ? t

-?Q_M = +?Q_W, Therefore, ?Q_W = M_W * C * ? t    

?Q_W = 85g * 4.184 J/Gc*2.5°C

?Q_W = +889 J

Hence, C_M = ?Q/ m * ? t,

C_M =889J/(25g*72.5°C) = 0.49 J/g C

The observations of the results shown that the procedure of the experiment was done in the right ways. The results of the percentage error for the experiment indicated the least amount of error with it being a very small percentage. Another experiential issue was that the calorimeter itself is not likely to be entirely accurate as of the innovation that was made by Theodore William Richards. The one that Richards used was made out of metal and used in a contained environment to get an accurate read of heat change in each metal. The outcome of the experiment was similar to what was hypothesized. The metal did heat the water in the calorimeter even though it was around 1 degree.  It was known that some factors could have affected the outcome. This is the reason why it was hypothesized that there would be a difference between the actual and outcome data. The heaviest metal, sample 2, seemed to give off a larger heat difference than sample 1 and sample 2. The heavier metal would cause a greater change in the room temperature water. The large per cent in error could be due to numerous factors. The construction of this experiment's calorimeter was made by Styrofoam cups which cannot contain heat as well as metal can. Another indication in error could be that some of the heat could have leaked out through the holes where the stirring rod and the thermometer were inserted. Some of the heat could have been lost during the transfer of the metal from the heated beaker to the calorimeter.

Conclusion and Summary

The experiment carried out was a success and data which was caught having no performance errors. The specific heat of the metal and compared with the putative values was strongminded. In improving the experiment some adhesive tape then corks could be utilized in containing the heat better in the calorimeter. Through the experiment, they learned from what was obtained that it is capable of obtaining the specific heat of metal in the experiment even though it is not perfectly accurate—the difficulty in the report to obtain the background info on the subject of specific heat.  The pleasure of the entire report would be the experiment itself and calculating the data in acquiring the specific heat of the metal. The outcome of the experiment was similar to what was hypothesized. This is the reason why it was conjectured that there would be a variation between the actual and outcome data. As the metal is heavier, it seemed to be giving off a larger heat. The heavier metal would be causing a higher variation in the room temperature water. The construction of this experiment's calorimeter was made by cups that cannot contain heat as well as metal can. The suggestion in error could be that the heat could have leaked out through the holes where the stirring rod and thermometer were implanted.  Some of the heat could have been lost during the transferring of the metal from the heated beaker to the calorimeter.