Introduction
This lab is to find out experimentally the specific heat of aluminum. Specific heat is the amount of energy (in Joules) needed to heat up one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius.
Materials * Water * Insulated coffee cups (2) * density cube of aluminum * Tongs * Beaker * Tabletop balance * Hot plate * Thermometer
Procedure 1. Measure weight of aluminum cube on tabletop balance. 2. Fill beaker halfway with water and put aluminum cube inside beaker. 3. Put beaker on hot plate and turn hot plate on high. 4. Put one coffee cup inside the other, then fill coffee cup ¼ full with water. 5. Measure weight of coffee cup with water and subtract the weight of the coffee cups to get the mass of the water. 6. Use thermometer to measure the temperature of the water in the coffee cup. 7. After the water in the beaker has been boiling for about five minutes, use the thermometer to record the temperature of the water. 8. After taking the temperature, use the tongs to take out the aluminum cube and put it into the water in the coffee cup. 9. Put thermometer into coffee cup and wait until the thermometer reaches and stays at its highest temperature for a while.
Data Table Trial 1 | Mass (g) | Initial Temperature (oC) | Final Temperature (oC) | Aluminum | 44 g | 100.5oC | 25oC | Water | 166.25 g | 21oC | 25oC |
