Experiment Cooling Rate of a Hot Liquid

Aim:
To investigate how the cooling rate of a hot liquid depends on the surface area of the liquid exposed
to air.

Materials Required:

Long stem thermometer with a range of 10 C to 110 C reading to the nearest 1.0 C or 0.5 C.
250 mL beaker with 50 ml graduations.
Container with 500 mL of cold water or access to a sink.
Stopwatch reading to 0.1 s or better.
Metre rule with a millimetre scale.
Triangular prism with minimum height 1 cm.
Cup.
Bowl.
Access to a source of boiling water, e.g. kettle.
Pen capable of making a mark on the cup and the bowl.
Paper towels.

Procedure:
1. Pour cold water into the beaker up to the 200 mL mark.
2. Pour the water into the cup and use the pen to place a mark on the inside surfaceof the cup, level
with the water surface.
3. Empty out the cold water.
4. Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 for the bowl.
5. Pour boiling water into the cup up to the mark.
6. When the temperature of the water falls to approximately 75 C, start the stopwatch.Record this
starting temperature.
7. After two minutes, measure and record the temperature of the water.
8. Calculate the change in temperature.
9. Measure and record the diameter d of the water surface.
10. Estimate the percentage uncertainty in your value of d.
11. Repeat steps 5 9 for the bowl.

12. It is suggested that the relationship between T and d is:

T = k d2
where k is a constant.
Using your data, calculate two values of k.(one for the bowl and one for the cup).
13. Justify the number of significant figures that you have given for your values of k.
14. Explain whether your results support the suggested relationship.
15. Describe four sources of uncertainty or limitations of the procedure for this experiment.
16. Describe four improvements that could be made to this experiment. You may suggest the use of
other apparatus or different procedures.