EXPERIMENT No.

8
SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY OF SOLID
OBJECTIVE:
• To determine the specific heat capacity of solid specimens using the method of
mixtures.

MATERIALS:
Solid specimens, water bath, thermometer, calorimeter, and platform balance

THEORY:
Every material has unique characteristics properties. Substances differ from one another in
the quantity of heat (Q) needed to produce a given increase in temperature in a given mass.
When heat is added to a substance its internal energy increases as manifested by a rise in
temperature. The amount of heat may be computed from the formula.

Q = mc ∆t

Where: Q = amount of heat in Joules

m = mass of the substance in grams
∆t = change in temperature in C°
c = specific heat capacity of the substance in J/g·C°

The specific heat of the substance is defined as the heat required per unit mass to change the
temperature by one degree. In this experiment the specific heat of a solid is determined by
the method of mixture. The mixture consists of a heated metal taken out from a system at a
high temperature which is added to a known mass of water contained in the inner cup of an
aluminum calorimeter at a low temperature. Then the equilibrium temperature is taken.
From the law of heat exchange the specific heat of the unknown metal can be computed by
the formula.
−𝑄𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡 = 𝑄𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑
−𝑄𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑄𝑐𝑎𝑙 + 𝑄𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
−(𝑚𝑐∆𝑇)𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 = (𝑚𝑐∆𝑇)𝑐𝑎𝑙 + (𝑚𝑐∆𝑇)𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

(𝒎𝒄∆𝑻)𝒄𝒂𝒍 + (𝒎𝒄∆𝑻)𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓
𝒄𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 =
−(𝒎∆𝑻)𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍
PROCEDURE
1. Weigh the inner cup of the calorimeter with the stirrer on the platform balance and
record the mass.
2. Pour tap water into it until it is about one-third full.
3. Weigh the inner cup with the water and stirrer and record the mass.
4. Place the inner cup with water and stirrer in the outer calorimeter with the ring
separating them. Cover in such way that the handle of the stirrer comes out through
the hole provided for it. Insert the thermometer through the one-holed rubber
stopper at the center of the cover making sure that the bulb is fully immersed in the
water but does not touch the bottom of the inner vessel/calorimeter.
5. Determine and record the mass of the solid specimen on the platform balance and
record its mass.
6. Heat up the solid specimen in the water bath. Make sure that the specimen is not in
contact with the bottom of the water bath by suspending it on a string. From time to
time, get the temperature of the water bath.
7. When the water is about to boil, read the temperature of the water in the calorimeter
and record as the initial temperature of the water and the calorimeter.
8. When the water is already boiling, get the temperature of the water and record it as
the initial temperature of the solid.
9. Transfer the heated solid specimen very quickly into the water in the calorimeter.
Cover immediately and stir gently while observing its temperature.
10. Once the temperature becomes steady, read the thermometer and record this as the
equilibrium temperature of the mixture. Tabulate the data in table 1.

CALCULATIONS
1. Subtract the mass of the inner cup with stirrer from the mass of the inner cup with
stirrer and water to get the mass of the water.
2. Get the absolute values of the change in temperature of the solid specimen, the water
and the inner cup with stirrer.
3. Equate the heat lost by the solid to the heat gained by water, vessel/calorimeter and
the stirrer. Compute the specific heat of the solid using the formula.

(𝒎𝒄∆𝑻)𝒄𝒂𝒍 + (𝒎𝒄∆𝑻)𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓
𝒄𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 =
−(𝒎∆𝑻)𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍

where : cw = 4.186 J/g·C° ccal = 0.910 J/g·C°

4. Compare the computed values with the true value for the specimen given in the
table of specific heats.
5. Compute for the percentage error.
𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
% 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = | | 𝑥100
𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
Name: ARCEGA, BORCELIS, BUENAVENTURA, CANAPI, Date: JUNE 26, 2023
CAPARROS, CANARES, CERICO
Course, Year and Section: BET-ET-NS-2B-M Group No.: 1

Experiment 8
SPECIFIC HEAT OF METALS

Data Table 1

Solid Specimen Copper

Mass of inner vessel with stirrer (grams) 36.4 g
Mass of vessel with stirrer and water (grams) 142.4 g
Mass of solid specimen (grams) 104.7 g
Initial temperature of solid specimen (℃) 100℃
Initial temperature of vessel, stirrer and water (℃) 30℃

Equilibrium temperature of the mixture 35℃

Data Table 2

Solid specimen Copper

Mass of water (grams) 106 g

Temperature change of solid (C°) 65C°

Temperature change of vessel and water (C°) 5C°

Specific heat of solid specimen (experimental) 0.350 J/g · C°

Specific heat of solid specimen (true value) 0.390 J/g · C°

Percentage error 10.26%

Calculations: (specific heat capacity for copper and percentage error)

QUESTIONS

1. Define heat and temperature.

Answer:
- Heat is the energy that is transmitted between objects when there is a
temperature difference, producing a warm or hot feeling. An object's temperature,
which determines how hot or cold it feels, is a measurement of the average kinetic
energy of its particles.
- Heat is a kind of energy that moves from areas of greater temperature to lower
temperature, whereas temperature is a scalar quantity that is measured in units
like Celsius or Fahrenheit. Understanding temperature enables us to better
understand how heat is distributed throughout our environment.

2. What is the relationship between heat and temperature?

Answer:
- The temperature is only a measurement of energy, while heat is the entire energy
of the molecules motion inside the item or particle. The relationship between heat
and temperature is directly proportional, because as heat increases the
temperature also increases.
- Heat is measured in Joules, while temperature is measured in degrees Celsius or
Kelvin. In thermodynamics, heat and temperature are related ideas. Heat is the
term used to describe the movement of thermal energy caused by a temperature
difference from one object or system to another.
3. A 200-g copper specimen at 200°C is immersed in 300 g of water at 20°C contained
in a 150-g aluminum calorimeter. What equilibrium temperature will the mixture
attain?

4. A 100-g mass of an unknown material at 100°C is placed in an aluminum calorimeter

of 60-g mass that contains 150 g of water at an initial temperature of 15°. At
equilibrium, the final temperature is 19.5°C. What is the specific heat of the material?
What material is it?
Substance Specific Heat Capacity
𝒄𝒂𝒍⁄ 𝑱 𝑱
𝒈 ∙ 𝑪𝒐 ⁄𝒈 ∙ 𝑪𝒐 ⁄𝒌𝒈 ∙ 𝑪𝒐

aluminum 0.220 0.910 910

brass 0.092 0.386 386

copper 0.093 0.390 390

iron/steel 0.120 0.470 470

lead 0.031 0.130 130

ice 0.50 2.100 2100

steam 0.48 2.009 2009

water 1 4.186 4186