Janine Anne L. De Vera Prof.

Vitancol
BSED – Science Thermodynamics

Title: Latent Heat of Fusion

Abstract
Latent heat of fusion of ice is the energy required for the ice to change water from a solid
to a liquid or vice versa. The purpose of this lab was to find the heat of fusion of ice using a simple
calorimeter. In order to determine the heat of fusion for ice, we need to melt some ice and measure
how much heat energy is absorbed. The ice needs to be isolated from its surroundings, so we place
it in an insulating Styrofoam cup, which is a simple device called a calorimeter (heat measurer).

Introduction
As we know to increase the temperature of water it takes heat energy and this is
given by the formula Q = mCT. Meaning that the temperature increase is directly proportional
to the heat put into the system; however, this is not the case during a PHASE CHANGE (i.e.
melting, freezing,boiling, etc.).During a phase change the temperature of the substance
remains constant!! This is due to the fact that the energy being put into the system is being used
to break the intermolecular forces between the molecules allowing them to separate causing
the phase change. We can no longer use the formula Q = mCT to determine the amount of
heatput into the system since there is NO temperature change during the phase change meaning
this formula would produce an answer of zero which is incorrect. Therefore we introduce the
concept of Latent Heat for phase changes.
Latent heat of fusion of ice is the energy required for the ice to change water from a solid
to a liquid or vice versa, i.e. to melt ice. In this experiment you will try to measure the latent heat
of fusion of ice (LHice), the energy needed (per gram) to melt ice. The needed energy will come
from a cup of warm water. The amount of water and its temperature will be measured before
adding some ice and then again after the ice has been melted. These data will be used in an energy
balance equation to determine LHice. The purpose of this lab was to find the heat of fusion of ice
using a simple calorimeter.
Janine Anne L. De Vera Prof. Vitancol
BSED – Science Thermodynamics

Methodology

Measuring the mass of the Calorimeter

Measuring the mass of the Calorimeter with Water

Getting the initial temperature of Water

Putting Ice on the Water

Measuring the weight of the ice water

Getting the temperature of the ice water

Melting the Ice

Data

1st Trial 2nd Trial 3rd Trial

Mass of Calorimeter 47.6 g 47.6 g 47.6 g

Mass of Calorimeter with Water 242.8 g 247.6 g 260.2 g

Mass of Water 195.2 g 200 g 212.6 g

Initial Temperature 27°C 26°C 27°C

Mass of Calorimeter with Ice 293.6 g 300.6 g 327.4 g
Water
Final Temperature 5°C 4°C 3°C

Mass of Ice 50.8 g 52.9 g 67.2 g

Janine Anne L. De Vera Prof. Vitancol
BSED – Science Thermodynamics

Results and Discussion

Mass of Water (MW)

1st Trial 2nd Trial 3rd Trial

Mw= M1– Mc Mw = M1 – Mc Mw = M1 - Mc
Mw = 242.8 g – 47.6 g Mw = 247.6g – 47.6 g Mw = 260.2 g -47.6 g
Mw = 195.2 g Mw = 200 g Mw = 212.6 g

Mass of Ice (Mice)

1st Trial 2nd Trial 3rd Trial

Mice = M2 – Mi Mice = M2 – Mi Mice = M2 – Mi

Mice = 293.6 – 242.8 g Mice = 300.5 g - 247. 6 g Mice = 327.4 g – 260.2 g
Mice = 50.8 g or 0.0508 kg Mice = 52.9 g or 0.0529 kg Mice = 67.2 g or 0.0672 kg

Percent Error

Trial 1
3.33𝑥105 𝐽 𝑘𝑔 °C−3.33x105 𝐽 𝑘𝑔
X 100 = 0 %
3.33𝑋105 𝐽 𝐾𝑔 °C

Trial 2
3.33𝑥105 𝐽 𝑘𝑔 °C−3.31x105 𝐽 𝑘𝑔
X 100 = 0.06 %
3.33𝑋105 𝐽 𝐾𝑔 °C

Trial 3
3.33𝑥105 𝐽 𝑘𝑔 °C−3.23x105 𝐽 𝑘𝑔
X 100 = 3 %
3.33𝑋105 𝐽 𝐾𝑔 °C
Janine Anne L. De Vera Prof. Vitancol
BSED – Science Thermodynamics

Conclusion
The purpose of this lab was to find the heat of fusion of ice using a simple calorimeter. In
order to determine the heat of fusion for ice, we need to melt some ice and measure how much
heat energy is absorbed. The ice needs to be isolated from its surroundings, so we place it in an
insulating Styrofoam cup, which is a simple device called a calorimeter (heat measurer).
In conclusion, calorimeter enables us to analyse the transfer of heat and this was confirmed in our
results. Ice was placed in warm water to achieve thermal equilibrium and the concept of
calorimeter allowed us to incorporate heat transfer into numerical values and hence compute for
the heat of fusion.