Name: _______________________________________________________ Class: _____________________

Calorimetry Lab
Introduction:
The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. In other words, heat lost
equals heat gained. Thus, if a heated piece of metal is placed in a calorimeter containing cool water, the water
will gain the heat lost by the metal. By knowing the specific heat of water and its temperature change, the
specific heat of the unknown metal can be calculated.

Materials:
 foam cup calorimeter  boiling water bath  distilled water
 thermometer  small beaker  tap water
 solid piece of unknown metal  test tube  safety goggles
 electronic balance  test tube holder

Procedures:
Read this procedure carefully.
1. Observe the boiling water bath that you will be using. Be careful in handling hot objects.
2. Determine the mass of the unknown metal piece. Record this in your data table.
3. Carefully place the unknown metal piece in a test tube. Support the test tube in the water bath with a test
tube holder. Allow the test tube with the metal to remain in the water bath for 6-7 minutes.
4. While the metal is heating, obtain a foam cup calorimeter and determine its mass (without the lid). Record
in your data table.
5. Use the graduated cylinder to add about 160.0 mL of water to the calorimeter. Find the mass of the water
plus calorimeter. Record this in your data table.
6. Calculate the mass of the water that you added to the calorimeter.
7. Use the thermometer to determine the temperature of the water bath at boiling. Assume that this is also the
temperature of the metal. Record this in your data table as the initial temperature of the unknown metal.
8. Wait 3 minutes to allow the thermometer to cool. Gently place the thermometer through the hole in the lid
of the calorimeter.
9. Wait 3 minutes. Determine and record the temperature of the water in the foam cup calorimeter. Record
this as the initial temperature of the water.
10. Carefully remove the test tube containing the metal from the boiling water bath. Gently transfer the metal to
the water in the foam cup calorimeter. **Move the metal from the hot water bath into your foam cup
without wasting time – don’t lose the metal’s heat!!
11. Place the lid (with the thermometer inserted) in the foam cup. Adjust the thermometer so that it is not
resting on the metal or bottom of the cup.
12. Wait several minutes. Record the highest temperature reached by the water and metal system. Assume that
this is the final temperature for both the metal and the water. Determine and record the temperature change.

Data:
 Mass of unknown metal
Mass of foam cup calorimeter
Mass of foam cup calorimeter and water
Mass of water
Initial temperature of unknown metal
Initial temperature of water
Final temperature of water and unknown metal
Temperature change of water
Temperature change of unknown metal
Heat added to water (Q) (Question 1)
Specific heat of unknown metal (experimental) (Question 2)
Specific heat of unknown metal (accepted)
Percent error (Question 3)

Calculations:
(Show your work.)
1. Calculate the amount of energy that the water absorbed in the calorimeter. Use Q=mcT.

2. Use Q from number 1 to calculate the specific heat of your unknown metal.

3. Return your metal to the teacher and get the accepted value for your metal. Use this to calculate your
percent error.

Analysis:
4. Identify examples of each process of heat transfer demonstrated in this experiment (convection and
conduction).

5. Explain how the law of conservation of energy impacts the temperature changes of the metal and the water
in the foam cup.