Gözde ÇEVİK

PHYSICS LAB: GÖZDE ÇEVİK

SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY OF WATER

INTRODUCTION

Research Question: How many joules of heat are required to raise the temperature

of 0.5 liters water by 1℃?

Aim: To determine the specific heat capacity of water.

Background Information:

Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat needed to raise a pure substance’s

temperature by 1℃. The following equation is used to find out the specific heat

capacity of any substance including water:

∆𝑄 = 𝑚 𝑥 𝑐 𝑥 ∆𝑡

Where

 ∆𝑄 means the amount of heat applied,

 m means the mass of the substance tested

 c means the specific heat capacity of the substance tested

 ∆𝑡 means temperature rise.

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In this experiment, certain amounts of water placed in a kettle are heated for

specified time intervals before and after their temperatures are measured. The power of

the kettle is learnt before the experiment to measure the amount of heat applied (∆𝑄)

and the power of it is 1000 watts.

Hypothesis: Since the specific heat capacity of a substance is the same for all

conditions, the 4 different testings will give the same/close value of specific heat

capacity of water under the same conditions.

Independent Variables:

1. The amount of water used (0.5 liters)

2. The initial temperature of water used

3. The power of the boiler used (1000 Watts)

Dependent Variables:

1. The temperature rises of water for each case

2. The final temperatures of water for each case

3. The amount of heat applied.

Controlled Variables:

1. Time

2. Room temperature

How the variables are controlled: The whole experiment is done in a place that

was in room temperature and had the same air conditions throughout the experiment.
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DESIGN

Apparatus:

1. Tap water

2. Graduated kettle

3. Centigrade thermometer

Method:

1. The power of kettle is noted down before the experiment.

2. Half liter of water is poured from the tap to the kettle for the first measurement.

3. The temperature of the water in the kettle is measured by using a thermometer.

4. The initial temperature is recorded

5. The kettle is turned on and the water is heated for 30 seconds.

6. After 30 seconds, the kettle is turned off and immediately the final temperature

of water is recorded.

7. The steps 2-5 are repeated for the second, third and fourth measurements but

the time for heating is changed to 60 , 90 and 120 seconds respectively.

8. The values are recorded.

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DATA AND PROCESSING

Raw Data

Table 1: The initial and final temperatures recorded for the four trials.

TESTINGS INITIAL TEMPERATURE (℃ ± FINAL TEMPERATURE

0.5) (℃ ± 0.5)

1st trial 27 ± 0.5℃ 37 ± 0.5℃

2nd trial 23 ± 0.5℃ 47 ± 0.5℃

3rd trial 17 ± 0.5℃ 53 ± 0.5℃

4th trial 13 ± 0.5℃ 63 ± 0.5℃

Processed Data

Table 2: The temperature rise of the four trials

TESTINGS Initial Temperature Final Temperature

(℃ ± 0.5) Temperature (℃ ± 0.5) Rise (℃ ± 0.5)

1st trial 27 ± 0.5℃ 37 ± 0.5℃ 10 ± 0.5℃

2nd trial 23 ± 0.5℃ 47 ± 0.5℃ 24 ± 0.5℃

3rd trial 17 ± 0.5℃ 53 ± 0.5℃ 36 ± 0.5℃

4th trial 13 ± 0.5℃ 63 ± 0.5℃ 50 ± 0.5℃

Finding out the specific heat capacity of water:

In order to find out the specific heat capacity of water, the energy applied to all

trial samples must be measured first.

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 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 = 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑥 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

1st Trial: 1000 W x 30 sec. = 30000 J is ∆𝑄 1

∆𝑄
∆𝑄 = 𝑚 𝑥 𝑐 𝑥 ∆𝑡 so c =
𝑚 𝑥 ∆𝑡

30000
c= = 6000 joule/ gram ℃
0.5 𝑥 10

2nd Trial: 1000 W x 60 sec. = 60000 J is ∆𝑄 2

∆𝑄
∆𝑄 = 𝑚 𝑥 𝑐 𝑥 ∆𝑡 so c =
𝑚 𝑥 ∆𝑡

60000
c= = 5000 joule/ gram ℃
0.5 𝑥 24

3rd Trial: 1000 W x 90 sec. = 90000 J is ∆𝑄 3

∆𝑄
∆𝑄 = 𝑚 𝑥 𝑐 𝑥 ∆𝑡 so c =
𝑚 𝑥 ∆𝑡

90000
c= = 5000 joule/ gram ℃
0.5 𝑥 36

4th Trial: 1000 W x 90 sec. = 90000 J is ∆𝑄 4

∆𝑄
∆𝑄 = 𝑚 𝑥 𝑐 𝑥 ∆𝑡 so c =
𝑚 𝑥 ∆𝑡

90000
c= = 4800 joule/ gram ℃
0.5 𝑥 50
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Table 3: The specific heat capacity for 4 trials and the mean of them

TRIAL NO: Specific Heat Capacity

( joule/ gram ℃)

1st 6000

2nd 5000

3rd 5000

4th 4800

The Mean 5200

CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION

At the end of this experiment, the specific heat capacity of water is found 5200

joule/ gram℃. However, specific heat capacity of water is 4.186 joule/gram °C according

to the physics data booklet. The value that’s found at the end of this experiment is much

bigger than the actual value. This may be caused because of the heat loss to the

surroundings during the experiment and using isolation may prevent this loss. Using more

precise thermometer is also an improvement, especially a digital thermometer to prevent

the false measurements.