Specific Heat EX - 9977 Page 1 of 4

Lab Report: Specific Heat

Name: Sample Data

DATA PROCEDURE A: The Hot Water and the Cold Metal

Mass of the empty foam cup, with lid = 26.0 g

Masses Initial Temperatures Equilibriu Changes in Temperature

m
Temperat
ure

mmetal mwater To To Tf Tmetal Twater

metal water

Case 1 80.0 g 301.2 g 0C 85C 83.2C +83.2 C -1.8 C

Case 2 80.0 g 152.0 g 10C 70C 67.3C +57.3 C -2.7 C

DATA PROCEDURE B: The Hot Metal and the Cold Water

Masses Initial Temperatures Equilibriu Changes in Temperature

m
Temperat
ure

mmetal mwater To To Tf Tmetal Twater

metal water

Case 3 80.0 g 285.1 g 88C 11C 12.9C -75.1 C +1.9 C

Case 4 80.0 g 142.3 g 73.4C 0C 3.8C -69.6 C +3.8 C

CALCULATIONS PROCEDURES A and B:

Experimental

cmetal
Case 1 0.341 J/g C
Case 2 0.375 J/g C
Case 3 0.377 J/g C
Case 4 0.407 J/g C
Average: 0.375 J/g C

Written by C. A. Hernndez 2010

Specific Heat EX - 9977 Page 2 of 4

Type of Copper, 0.386 J/g C

material:

% error: 2.8%

Written by C. A. Hernndez 2010

Specific Heat EX - 9977 Page 3 of 4

The table shows some specific heats of common metals:

Metal Specific Heat (J/gC) Metal Specific Heat (J/gC)

aluminum 0.901 silver 0.234
steel 0.450 gold 0.129
zinc 0.390 lead 0.128
copper 0.386

Questions PROCEDURES A and B:

1. In every trial, who changed temperature more, the metal or the water? Did it matter whether it
was initially hot or cold? Why?
The metal always had a larger change in temperature than the water, no matter
whether the metal started hot or cold. This is because the metal has much less
mass than the water in each trial.
In general, the part of the system with less mass will change temperature more.
2. Of the four trials, transfer to the first row of this column the data for the trial that came closer to
the theoretical value:
mmetal mwater Tmetal Twater cmetal
Best Case 80.0 g 285.1 g -75.1 C +1.9 C 0.377
Masses + 81.0 g 286.1 g -75.1 C +1.9 C 0.374
1g

T 1 80.0 g 285.1 g -76.1 C +2.9 C 0.568

a. Assume that for some reason your measured masses are off by about 1-g. Add 1-g to
the mass of the metal and add 1-g to the mass of the water. Leave all other data the
same and recalculate the specific heat of the metal.
b. Now assume that for some reason your measured changes in temperature are off by
1C. Add 1C to the change in temperature of the metal. Add 1C to the change in
temperature of the water. Leave all other data the same and recalculate the specific
heat of the metal.
2. Discuss: What would affect the results more, an uncertainty in the measurement of the mass or
an uncertainty in the measurement of the temperature?

Written by C. A. Hernndez 2010

Specific Heat EX - 9977 Page 4 of 4

It looks that any uncertainty in the measurement of the temperatures produces

a large variation in the calculated specific heat. The uncertainty in the masses
does not affect the calculation as much.
3. Based on the way you measured temperatures and masses, discuss: Were the results of your
experimentation reasonable? What are the main sources of the % error in this experiment?
Masses were measured with a balance that reports a precision of about 0.1g.
The temperatures were measured from the computer plot. The final
temperature has the greater uncertainty because the user had to estimate
when the system had reached equilibrium to record the temperature. Most of
the percent error in the experiment comes from this estimation.
Other sources of uncertainty are the inevitable loss of heat to the environment,
but if the process was done quickly and efficiently, this loss was minimal.

Written by C. A. Hernndez 2010