Energy Forms & Changes Virtual Lab

Introduction: You will use the PhET simulation Energy

Forms & Changes to predict, experiment, discover and
interpret the meaning of the material property known as
Specific Heat Capacity.

Warm-Up:

1. Describe what the following terms mean

Temperature - A system's temperature can be determined physically by this amount. In contrast, A system's
average atomic kinetic energy can be calculated using temperature. Kelvin or degrees are two ways to
measure temperature.
Heat - It is a type of power. Heat always moves from an area with a greater temperature. to an area where
temperatures are lower. Joules (J) are units of energy used to measure heat.

2. Using your definition for temperature above, explain how a thermometer works to provide a visual
representation of the temperature

Alcohol or mercury are the components of a thermometer's capillary tube. Mercury expands with
increasing temperature, which causes it to rise in the capillary tube. Alternatively, mercury contracts in
response to a drop in temperature, which lowers the amount of mercury in the capillary tube. To read
the temperature, glance at the Celsius scale that is affixed to the capillary tube.

3. Thermometers in the past were filled with mercury but most are now filled with alcohol
instead due to safety reasons. Why do you think alcohol is used instead of water?

It is safer to use alcohol in thermometers because it is less poisonous than mercury.

Because alcohol has a lower freezing point than mercury, it is also possible to monitor low
temperatures between -115 OC and 78.5 OC.

4. The simulator allows you to add the same amount of heat energy to different materials e.g. water, oil,
iron, brick. If you are able to measure the temperature of these materials as you are heating them
would you predict that each will have the same temperature changes? Explain.

No, the temperature changes won't be the same. The following equation clarifies this:
Q = mc∆T
Where Q = Amount of heat absorbed, m = mass, c = specific heat capacity and ∆T = change in
temperature
Rearranging the equation, ∆T = Q/mc
Experiment:

5. Position the Iron block on one of the ring stands and move a thermometer to the block to
measure the temperature of it. Then click the Energy Symbols tab and begin increasing
the heat under the iron. Describe what you observe.
Heat transfer from the heating source to the iron is observed, and as a result of the iron's
absorption of heat, its internal energy increases. The thermometer indicates an increase
in iron temperature as a result of this. The heat from the heat source is not absorbed by
iron at the maximum temperature; rather, it is lost to the environment, meaning that
internal energy is no longer increased.

6. Predict what you would see if you are able to measure the temperature of the Iron block and Brick block
as you supply the same amount of heat to each block.

According to the thermometer, brick blocks would experience temperature changes more quickly than
iron blocks. Additionally, compared to iron blocks, brick blocks have less internal energy.

7. Click the reset button, then drag the iron block on one stand and the brick block on the second stand.
Again, put a thermometer in both blocks to measure the temperature of each. Click the Energy Symbols
and Link Heaters tabs. Before adding any heat to the blocks, observe any differences in the blocks and
provide a reason for this.

We find that the internal energy of a brick is less than that of iron. The reason for this is because brick
blocks have a lower specific heat capacity than iron. Because iron can absorb more heat energy than a
brick block with the same mass, its internal energy is higher due to its higher specific heat capacity.

Observation & Analysis:

8. Increase the temperature on the blocks and observe the thermometers and record observations

I notice that the thermometer rises in tandem with the temperature that we are raising on the blocks.
The internal energy of brick is less than that of iron block. When heated, we find that the temperature of
the brick block rises more quickly than When both blocks receive the same amount of heat, the iron
block appears on the thermometer.
 9. If you wanted to use these experiment to get quantitative observations and create a graph showing
trends, list the variables in such an experiment

Independent - time
Dependent - energy
Control - temperature

10. Repeat the comparison done with the blocks above, this time comparing the two liquids. Record your
observations.
Before heat increases, water has a larger thermal energy level than olive oil, but when heat increases,
olive oil's temperature rises more quickly.

11. Repeat again this time comparing water and iron. Record your results.
Compared to the iron, the water has a larger thermal energy level.

12. What does your experiment tell you about water?

According to the experiment, water has a greater specific heat capacity.

Discussion:

Specific Heat Capacity is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a substance per
unit of mass e.g. 1 g. It is essentially a property of a material that describes its ability to store heat.
Different materials have different specific heat capacities.

13. Conduct research to find the specific heat capacity of water 4190 and iron 470.

14. Based on your observations & analysis from above explain what you would expect to see when you
research the Specific Heat Capacity value for copper.
 I believe that because copper heats up more quickly than both water and iron, it has a lower heat
capacity.

15. The specific heat capacity of copper is 385 J/kg °C. This means to raise the temperature of 1kg of
copper by 1°C, 385 J is required.

16. Clay bricks are used as building materials in construction. Do some research on specific heat
capacities of brick, concrete, stone etc. and advise on what this means for society.
There are 1000 J/kg°C for stone, 800 J/kg°C for brick, and 100 J/kg°C for concrete. Since they don't
leak or corrode in their containers, solids like clay bricks or ceramic materials are favoured. However,
because of their lower specific heat capacity, these materials must be heated to a very high
temperature in order to provide beneficial heating over a period of many hours.

Extend:

17. An igloo, or snow hut, is a type of shelter built out of

snow traditionally used only by the people of Canada's
Central Arctic and Greenland's Thule area. Conduct
research to find the specific heat capacity values of the
materials that igloos are built from. Then explain whether
these are an efficient choice for design of a home in colder
climates.
An effective option for building a shelter in a cold region is
an igloo. Even at extremely low temperatures, an igloo
functions by preventing heat from escaping into the
surrounding area due to the low thermal conductivity of ice,
which is similar to that of air. Both the ice and the still air work incredibly well as insulators.