Abstract

There were two activities done in the experiment namely, specific heat of metal and heat of
fusion of water. Results in this experiment showed that the heat lost in the system is equal to the
heat gained in the system; furthermore this concept enabled the group to determine the specific
heat of the metal object as well as the latent heat of fusion of water. 

Introduction

In this experiment, the specific heat of a solid was determined by the method of mixtures; the
latent heat of fusion and heat of vaporization of water were determined . Phase changes occur when
heat is added at a constant rate until physical alterations happen to the substance. Specific heat of a
solid substance can be determined by the "Method of Mixture" using the concept of the "Law of
Heat Exchange". The method of mixture based on the fact that when a hot substance is mixed
with a cold substance, the hot body loses heat and the cold body absorbs heat until thermal
equilibrium is attained. At equilibrium, final temperature of mixture is measured. The specific
heat of the substance is calculated with the help of the law of heat exchange. A method of
determining the heat of fusion of a substance whose specific heat is known, in which a known
amount of the solid is combined with a known amount of the liquid in a calorimeter, and the
decrease in the liquid temperature during melting of the solid is measured. The specific heat is
the amount of heat per unit mass required to raise the temperature by one degree Celsius. The
relationship between heat and temperature change is usually expressed in the form shown below
where c is the specific heat. The relationship does not apply if a phase change is encountered,
because the heat added or removed during a phase change does not change the temperature. The
energy required to change a gram of a substance from the solid to the liquid state without
changing its temperature is commonly called its "heat of fusion". This energy breaks down the
solid bonds, but leaves a significant amount of energy associated with the intermolecular forces
of the liquid state. The energy required to change a gram of a liquid into the gaseous state at
the boiling point is called the "heat of vaporization". This energy breaks down the intermolecular
attractive forces, and also must provide the energy necessary to expand the gas. For an ideal gas,
there is no longer any potential energy associated with intermolecular forces. So the internal
energy is entirely in the molecular kinetic energy.

References
[1] HyperPhysics. Heat of Fusion. Retrieved February 7, 2017 from http://hyperphysics.phy-
astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/phase2.html

[2] HyperPhysics. Specific Heat. Retrieved February 7, 2017 from http://hyperphysics.phy-

astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/spht.html

[3] City Collegiate. Specific Heat. Retrieved February 7, 2017 from

http://www.citycollegiate.com/specific_heat.htm

[4] Practical Physics. Method of Mixtures. Retrieved February 7, 2017 from

http://www.vias.org/glazebrook_practphys/wrapnt75A18C_the_method_of_mixture.html