List of experiments

1. Determination of specific heat of a liquid using Newton’s law of cooling.

2. Determination of electrical equivalent of heat using Joule’s calorimeter.

3. Verification of Stefan’s law.

4. Determination of temperature coefficient of resistance of copper wire.

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Experiment - 1
Aim: To determine specific heat of a liquid by Newton’s law of cooling.
Apparatus: Calorimeter, thermometers, stop clock and balance.
Principle: Newton’s law of cooling states that the rate of heat loss from a body is directly
proportional to the difference in the temperature of the body and its surrounding.
dQ dQ
α ( T1 − T2 ) =⇒ = −K ( T1 − T2 )
dt dt
‘K’ is the proportionality constant in above equation depends on the nature of the body and
the surface area exposed to surrounding.
In a calorimeter having a specific heat Cc and mass mc a liquid of mass ml cools down from
a temperature T1 to T2 . If the liquid takes tl amount of time to cool down, the heat lost (by both
calorimeter and the liquid) and rate of heat loss are given by,

mc Cc + ml Cl
mc Cc ( T1 − T2 ) + ml Cl ( T1 − T2 ) and ( T1 − T2 )
tl
Similarly, if water of mass, mw and specific heat Cw cools down from T1 to T2 in time tw in
the same calorimeter, then the rate of heat loss would be,

mc Cc + mw Cw
( T1 − T2 )
tw
From the Newton’s law of cooling,

mc Cc + ml Cl mc Cc + mw Cw
( T1 − T2 ) = ( T1 − T2 )
tl tw
Re-altering the above expression to obtain the specific heat of liquid would be,

(tl − tw )mc Cc + tl mw Cw
Cl =
tw ml
Formula: The specific heat of the liquid in is

(tl − tw )mc Cc + tl mw Cw
Cl = Jkg−1 K −1
tw ml
Where, tl and tw are the time taken by the liquid and water to cool down
from temperatures T1 to T2 respectively in s,
mc is the mass of the empty calorimeter in kg,
Cc is the specific heat of the calorimeter in Jkg−1 K −1 ,
mw is the mass of water in kg,
Cw is the specific heat of water in Jkg−1 K −1 ,
ml is the mass of the oil in kg.

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Procedure:
There are two calorimeters in this experiment with identical mass, specific heat and envi-
ronment. One calorimeter is used for water and another calorimeter is used for oil.

1. Note down the mass of empty calorimeter and stirrer mc .

2. Fill 2/3rd of the calorimeter with hot water (at about 100◦ C).
3. Switch ON the stop clock as soon as the calorimeter reaches a temperature of 90◦ C and
progressively note down the time for every 2◦ C drop in temperature till the temperature
reaches 60◦ C.
4. Keep stirring the water inside the calorimeter to maintain the temperature of water uni-
form.
5. Measure the mass of the calorimeter containing water and calculate the mass of the water.
6. Fill 2/3rd of the other calorimeter with hot oil (at about 100◦ C).
7. Repeat the experiment by noting down the time for every 2◦ C drop in temperature as the
oil cools down.
8. Measure the mass of the calorimeter containing oil and calculate the mass of the oil.
9. Plot a graph of temperature vs. time which shows the cooling curves for both water and
oil.
10. Select any two temperatures T1 and T2 , and note down the time taken for both water and
oil to cool down from temperature T1 and T2 .
11. Assuming the specific heat of water to be 4200 Jkg−1 K −1 , calculate the specific heat of oil
using the above formula.

Experimental setup:

Stirrer
Thermometer
Lid
T (◦ C )

Calorimeter
oil water
T1
Doubled walled T2
tl
container tw
t (s)

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Observations and tabulations:

Time taken to cool down to

Temperature, T
the temperature T in s
in ◦ C For water For oil
90
88
86
84
82
80
78
76
74
72
70
68
66
64
62
60

Mass of the empty calorimeter and stirrer, m1 = m c = kg

Mass of the calorimeter, stirrer and water, m2 = kg
Mass of the water, m w = m2 − m1 = kg
Mass of the calorimeter, stirrer and oil, m3 = kg
Mass of the liquid (oil), m l = m3 − m1 = kg
Specific heat of the material of the calorimeter (brass), Cc = 385 Jkg−1 K −1
Specific heat of water, Cw = 4200 Jkg−1 K −1
Initial temperature, T1 = ◦C

Final temperature, T2 = ◦C

Time taken by the water to cool down from T1 to T2 , tw = s

Time taken by the liquid (oil) to cool down from T1 to T2 , tl = s
Calculations:

(tl − tw )mc Cc + tl mw Cw
Cl = =
tw ml
Result: The specific heat of the liquid (oil) determined using Newton’s law of cooling is
Cl = Jkg−1 K −1 .

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Experiment - 2
Aim: Determination of electrical equivalent of heat using Joule’s calorimeter.
Apparatus: DC regulated power supply, ammeter, voltmeter, Joule’s calorimeter and ther-
mometer.
Principle: We know that the energy is conserved. That means energy can neither be created
nor be destroyed, it can only be converted from one form to another. The Joule’s calorimeter
consists of a calorimeter beaker (usually partially filled with water or any liquid of known heat
capacity) with a heating coil. When electrical current is passed through the coil, the electrical
energy gets converted into heat energy and gets transformed into the the calorimeter resulting
in the increase in the temperature of the liquid in the calorimeter. The amount of heat released
by the coil must be equal to the amount of the heat absorbed by the liquid and calorimeter. This
is the principle of the Joule’s calorimeter.
If V and I are the voltage across and current through the coil, that is maintained for a dura-
tion of time t, then the electrical energy liberated by the coil is.

Q = IVt

One can calculate the power by just measuring the voltage or the current if the resistance of the
coil is known as,
V2
Q = I 2 Rt = t
R
However, one should not use the resistance measured in the room temperature to do the above
calculations as, the resistance of the coil at higher temperature will be much higher than the
resistance at room temperature.
Let the specific heat capacity of the calorimeter beaker is Sc and the specific heat capacity of
the liquid (water) is Sw . If the temperature increase in the liquid is ∆T then the heat absorbed
by the calorimeter will be
H = [mc Sc + mw Sw ]∆T

Where, mc and mw are the masses of the calorimeter and the water respectively.
The electrical equivalent of heat is defined as the ratio of Q to H.

Q
J=
H
Under ideal conditions J will take the value of unity. But because of the several heat losses
involved in the experiment, J will be usually more than unity.
Formula:
The energy released by the electrically heated coil

Q = IVt

Where, V and I are the voltage across and the current through the coil in volt and ampere
respectively,

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t is the time for which the current is allowed to pass through the coil in s.
The heat absorbed by the calorimeter

H = [mc Sc + mw Sw ]∆T

Where, mc and mw are the masses of the calorimeter + stirrer and the water
respectively in kg,
Sc and Sw are the specific heats of the calorimeter and the water respectively
in Jkg−1 K −1 ,
∆T is the increase in temperature in K.
Procedure:

1. Measure the mass of the empty calorimeter and stirrer.

2. Fill the calorimeter with 2/3rd of water and determine the mass again.
3. Note down the temperature of the water.
4. Connect the circuit as shown in the circuit diagram.
5. Switch ON the regulated power supply, note the readings of voltmeter and ammeter.
6. Switch ON the stop clock simultaneously when you switch ON the power supply.
7. Allow the current to flow through the coil for about 30 min to 45 min. and note down the
temperature of the water just before switching OFF the power supply.
8. Calculate the heat absorbed by the water + calorimeter, the heat released by the coil and
the electrical equivalent of the heat.

Experimental setup and nature of graph:

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Observations and tabulations:

Mass of the empty calorimeter + stirrer, mc = kg

Mass of the empty calorimeter + stirrer + water, mcw = kg

Mass of the water, mw = mcw − mc = kg

Specific heat of material of calorimeter, Sc = 385 Jkg−1 K −1

Specific heat of water, Sw = 4200 Jkg−1 K −1

The current through the coil, I = A

The voltage across the coil, V = V

The duration for which the current is passed, t = s

The initial temperature of the water, T1 = oC = K

The final temperature of the water, T2 = oC = K

The increase in temperature of the water, ∆T = T2 − T1 = K

Calculations:
The energy released by the coil,
Q = IVt = J

The heat energy absorbed by the calorimeter and water,

H = [mc Sc + mw Sw ]∆T = J

The electrical equivalent of heat,

Q
J= =
H

Result: The electrical equivalent of heat was found to be

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Experiment - 3
Aim: Verification of Stefan’s law.
Apparatus: Tungsten filament electric bulb, regulated power supply, voltmeter, ammeter
and connecting wires.
Principle: Stefan’s law of radiation states that Total power radiated by a perfect black body per
unit surface area (E) is directly proportional fourth power of its absolute temperature (T).

E α T4 =⇒ E = σT 4 =⇒ log E = log σ + 4 log T

The proportionality constant (σ) in the above equation is known as Stefan’s constant. Its
value is 5.669 × 10−8 WK −4 m−2 . From above equation we can say that a graph of log E vs. log T
will be a straight line with slope of 4 and y-intercept of log σ.
Because of the unavailability of the perfect black body, a tungsten filament electric bulb can
be approximated to a black body to verify the Stefan’s law at laboratory level. If the bulb is
operating at a voltage V and current I the electric power supplied to the bulb (V I) gets radiated
(Ignoring the conduction loss due to the filament holder and convection loss due the the pres-
ence of gas inside the bulb in some cases). Further, as the resistance of the filament is directly
proportional to the temperature, the temperature can be estimated using resistance (V/I).
Normally the filament resistance at any temperature (Rt ) is a function of temperature (t in
◦ C) which can be expressed as a series,

Rt = R◦ (1 + αt + βt2 + γt3 + . . .)

Where, α, β and γ are first, second and third order temperature coefficients respectively. R◦
is the resistance at 0◦ C. Higher order terms have very low value, hence we can stop the series at
second order term as,
q
Rt
Rt −α + α2 − 4β(1 − R◦ )
= 1 + αt + βt2 =⇒ t=
R◦ 2β
α = 5.21 × 10−3 /◦ C, β = 7.21 × 10−7 /◦ C2 , R◦ = 3.2Ω and T◦ = 273K.
Formula: Temperature of tungsten filament (in ◦ C) is,
q
Rt
−α + α2 − 4β(1 − R◦ ) ◦
t= C and T = t + 273 K
2β
Where, α and β are first and second order temperature coefficient of resistances in /◦ C
and /◦ C2 respectively,
Rt is the resistance at temperature t ◦ C in Ω,
R◦ is the resistance at 0◦ C in Ω,
T is the absolute temperature of the filament in K.

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Procedure:

1. Connect the circuit as shown in the circuit diagram.

2. Switch ON the regulated power supply keeping the voltage at minimum and current limit
at maximum positions.
3. Increase the voltage and measure the corresponding current through the bulb.
4. Calculate the power radiated by the bulb and bulb resistance for each step.
5. Calculate the absolute temperature of the bulb using the resistance.
6. Plot a straight line graph of log P vs. log T and determine its slope.

Experimental setup and nature of graph:

BC
slope = ≈4
Bulb AB
C
log P

+ V – mA A
B
–

+ –
Battery log T

Observations and tabulations:

V Temp. Temp. Radiated

Rt = Rt
Sl. Voltage Current I (t) (T) power
log T log P
No. in V in mA R◦ in ◦ C in K P = VI
in Ω
in W

. .
. .
. .

Calculations:
q
Rt
−α + α2 − 4β(1 − R◦ ) ◦
t= = C
2β
Result: The slope of the straight line graph of log P vs. log T is found to be . The
Stefan’s law is verified as the slope is nearly equal to 4.

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Experiment - 4

Aim: Determination of temperature coefficient of resistance of copper wire.

Apparatus: DC regulated power supply, ammeter, voltmeter, copper wire coil, heater and
beaker.
Principle: Resistance in most of the conductors arises due to the collision of electrons with
the atoms. If the temperature of the conductor increases, the number of collision also increases
thereby increasing the resistance of the conductor. The relation between the resistance of the
conductor and temperature (for a small range of temperature) can be taken as,
Rt = R◦ (1 + αt)

Where, Rt is the resistance of the conductor at any temperature t, R◦ is the resistance at 0◦ C

and α is the first order temperature coefficient of the resistance of the conductor. If R1 and R2
are the resistances of a conductor at two different temperatures t1 and t2 , the above equation
becomes,
R1 = R◦ (1 + αt1 ) and R2 = R◦ (1 + αt2 )

From which we can obtain the expression for α as,

R2 − R1
α= /◦ C
R1 t2 − R2 t1
Formula: Temperature coefficient of resistance of copper wire is,

R2 − R1
α= /◦ C
R1 t2 − R2 t1
Where, R1 and R2 are resistances of copper wire in Ω at temperatures t1 and t2 in s
respectively.
Procedure:

1. Connect the circuit as shown in the circuit diagram.

2. Keep the test tube containing the copper coil inside the beaker half filled with caster oil.
3. Switch ON the regulated power supply, note the readings of voltmeter and ammeter.
4. Switch ON the heater and read the temperature on the thermometer immersed in caster
oil.
5. Note down the readings of voltmeter and ammeter for every 10◦ C increment in the tem-
perature starting from 30◦ C.
6. Calculate the value of the resistance for each reading and tabulate.
7. Plot a graph taking temperature (t) along x-axis and resistance (R) on y-axis.
8. From the plot determine the values of R1 and R2 for any two temperatures t1 and t2 re-
spectively.
9. Calculate the value of temperature coefficient of resistance (α) using the formula given
above.

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Experimental setup and nature of graph:

Thermometer
(T )

Copper
coil

R2
Oil bath

+ R1

R
A
+ V – –
t1 t2
+ –
Battery
t

Observations and tabulations:

Temperature Voltage Current Resistance

T V I R = VI
in ◦ C in V in mA in Ω
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110

Calculations:

R1 = Ω; R2 = Ω

◦ ◦
T1 = C; T2 = C

R2 − R1 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
α= = = /◦ C
R1 t2 − R2 t1 aaaaaaaaaa
Result: The temperature coefficient of resistance of given copper wire is found to be,
α= /◦ C.

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