SECTION-B

ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY B-1
Aim: To observe change of state and plot a cooling curve for molten wax.
Apparatus
A beaker, hard glass test tube provided with a cork (having hole in it), smal
pieces of paraftin wax, thermometer, stopwatch, burner, wire gauge and tnpod
stand. Molten state

Theory Change of state from

liquid to solid
The cooling curve is a graph showing the vanation of temperature of a
substance in molten state as it cools with passage of time
(Fig. B-). The part
AB ot the curve shows that Solid state
temperature of the molten substance decreases with
time. The tlat part BC of the curve where remains
temperature practically constant
shows the change of state from liquid to solid state. This called
part 1s fusion or
solidification curve. When the whole ot the matenal solidifies, the Time (minutes)
again falls with time till room temperature is attained, as shown by part CD of
temperature
the curve.
Fig. B-1
Diagram

Fig. B-2
Procedure
) Place a 500 ml beaker filled with water up to 26 part on the wire gauge placed on tipod stand with the burner below it
as shown in Fig. B-2
i) Put suficient no. of pieces of paraffin wax in hard glass test tube and insert a thermometer through the hole in the cork
that its bulb is completely surroundecd by paraffin pieces.
(1) Such
Heat water in the beaker till whole of the wax neits and temperarure rIses by about 20'C above the melting point.
V) Discontinue heating water. The temperature o moiten wx starts dccreasing. Start the stopwatch and keep on noting the
temperature of paraffin wax after every minutcs a ce raturc, wax Starts soludilying. Now the temperature
emains practically constant for a tew minutes nil the wiole P r n wax gets solidified. Keep on recording temperature
the
the whole wax solidified,
gets temperiture o sodca wax Starts talling again. Keep on recording
p Ctime.
nd When
r a t u r e and time till temperature as measurca by uiec u c et s ut ToCabove the room temperature
128 GRB New Era PhysiCs Practical
(Class-XI)
()Plot a graph between temperature along y-axis and time along x-axis. This graph represents cooling curve of molten wax
Fig. B-1). The almost horizontal portion BC of the curve shows the change of state trom liquid to solid.

Observations
Least count of stopwatch=
Lcast count of thermometer= C

wa
S.No. Te Temperature ol parallin
minuteS

Result
) The cooling curve of paraffin wax is as shown in Fig. B-1. Initially, temperature of molten paraftin decreases, then
becomes almost constant indicating the change of state from liquid to solid and then again temperature starts decreasing
showing the cooling of solid paraffin.
(i) From the cooling curve, the temperature of fusion of paraffin wax is .

Precautions
) The paraffin wax should be broken into small pieces.
() The bulb of the thermometer should be completely surrounded by thie picces of paraffin wax.
(i) The range of thermometer should be much greater than the melting point of paraffin wax.