SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS AND NATURAL SCIENCES

NAME : BANDANE. T. LWENJE

SIN : 23123489
GROUP : F
PROGRAM : BSc non quota
COURSE : INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICS
COURSE CODE : PH 110
TASK TITLE : SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY OF METALS
INSTRUCTOR : MR. WALUSA
LECTURER : MR. PONDO K
EXPERIMENT 8: SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY OF A METAL BLOCKS

AIM: to determine the specific heat capacity of metal blocks.

APPARATUS: Metal block D, thermometer, lagging C, calorimeter cup, and Stop watch.

THEORY

The Specific Heat of a substance, usually indicated by the symbol c, is the amount of heat
required to raise the temperature of one gram of the substance by 1° C (or 1 K). From the
definition of the calorie, it can be noted that the specific heat of water is 1.0 cal/g K. If an object
is made of a substance with specific heat equal to csub, then the heat, ∆H, required to raise the
temperature of that object by an amount ∆T is:

∆H = (mass of object) (csub) (∆T) (8.1)

PROCEDURE:

Data collection procedure

1. Measure Mcal, the mass of the calorimeter you will use (it should be empty and dry).
Record your result in Table 8.1.

2. Measure the mass of the aluminum block. Record these masses in Table 8.1 in the row
labeled M sample.

3. Measure the temperature Thot of the boiling water and record the value.

4. Attach a thread to the metal sample and suspend the samples in boiling water. Allow a
few minutes for the samples to heat thoroughly.

5. Fill the calorimeter approximately 1/2 full of cool water use enough water to fully cover
the metal sample.

6. Measure Tcool, the temperature of the cool water. Record your measurement in the table.

7. Immediately following your temperature measurement, remove the metal samples from
the boiling water, quickly wipe it dry, then suspend it in the cool water in the calorimeter
(the sample should be completely covered but should not touch the bottom of the
calorimeter).
 8. Stir the water with the thermometer and record Tfinal, the highest temperature attained by
the water as it comes into thermal equilibrium with the metal sample.

9. Immediately after taking the temperature, measure and record Mtotal, the total mass of the
calorimeter, water, and metal sample.

10. Repeat steps 1 to 9 for the copper and lead samples.

DATA COLLECTION

Copper Aluminum

Mcal 10g 10g

Msample 28.2g 180g

Thot 95oC 95 oC

Tcool 21 oC 26 oC

Tfinal 24 oC 35 oC

T(boiling water) 95 oC 95 oC

Mtotal 278.6g 436.5g

DATA ANALYSIS

Part A: Copper Metal

Mwater = Mtotal - (Mcal + Msample)

Mwater = 278.6g – (10g + 28.2g)

Mwater = 240.4g

∆Twater = Tfinal - Tcool

∆Twater = 24 oC - 21 oC

∆Twater = 3 oC
∆Tsample = T(boiling water) - Tfinal

∆Tsample = 95 oC - 24 oC

∆Tsample = 71 oC

Heat lost by sample = (Msample) (c sample) (∆Tsample) = (Mwater) (c water) (∆Twater) = Heat
gained by water.
(Msample) (c sample) (∆Tsample) = (Mwater) (c water) (∆Twater)
28.2g (C sample) (71 oC) = 240.4g (1.0 cal/g) (3)

C sample = cal/g K

C sample = 0.3602037758 cal/g K

C sample = 0.360 cal/g K

Part A: Aluminum Metal

Mwater = Mtotal - (Mcal + Msample)

Mwater = 436.5g – (10g + 180g)

Mwater = 246.5g

∆Twater = Tfinal - Tcool

∆Twater = 35 oC - 26 oC

∆Twater = 9 oC

∆Tsample = T(boiling water) - Tfinal

∆Tsample = 95 oC - 35 oC

∆Tsample = 60 oC

Heat lost by sample = (Msample) (c sample) (∆Tsample) = (Mwater) (c water) (∆Twater) = Heat gained
by water.

(Msample) (c sample) (∆Tsample) = (Mwater) (c water) (∆Twater)

180g (C sample) (60 oC) = 246.5g (1.0 cal/g) (9)

C sample = cal/g K

C sample = 0.2054166667 cal/g K

C sample = 0.205 cal/g K

SUMMARY

Copper Aluminum

Mwater 240.4g 246.5g

ΔTwater 3 oC 9 oC

ΔTsample 71 oC 60 oC

C 0.360 cal/g K 0.205 cal/g K

ANSWERS TO POST QUESTIONS

1. The specific heats of the samples obtained in this experiment are lower than the specific
heat capacity of water which is 1.0 cal/g K; which is expected since the specific heat
capacity of water is larger than the heat capacity of metals.

2. The unwanted heat loss or gain is referred to as the heat lost or gained between the
system and its surrounding. It can be attributed to by conduction, convection and
radiation; which are the types associated with heat loss or gain.

DISCUSSION

During the experiment involving the specific heat capacity of copper and aluminium, several
measures like calibrating the instruments, insulating the experiment set up and other measures
were taken to minimize errors in the experiment. The experiment showed that copper had a
specific heat capacity of 0.360 cal/g K and aluminum had 0.205 cal/g K which align well with
the fact that heat capacity of water which is 1.0 cal/g K is greater than the heat capacity of
metals.
CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the specific heat capacity of material is an important property that determines how
much heat energy is required to raise temperature of a given amount of the material. The
experiment showed that copper have the high specific heat capacity than aluminum but the two
have less heat capacity when compared to water.

REFERENCES

M. CHENGO, WALUSA, PH 110 Laboratory Manual, (2024), School of Mathematics and

Natural Sciences, The Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia.