Duhok Polytechnic University

Duhok Technical College of Engineering

Dept: Petrochemical Engineering

 
Exp. (3) Comparing Specific Heat of Water and
Vegetable Oil

Year
By
Mr. Mohammed Mahmoud

Email: Mohammed.babaker@uoz.edu.krd
 Goal of experiment
 The goal of this experiment is to compare
specific heat capacities of sunflower oil and
water.
Part A Procedure
1. Set the hotplate to 80°C.
2. Fill one of the two identical containers with water and
the second with oil of the same mass. The density of the
oil is lower; therefore the oil has larger volume.
3. Insert the thermometer in both containers.
4. Record the initial temperature of the liquids
5. Place the containers above hotplate and start the
stopwatch.
6. Record the temperature of the liquid every 2 minutes
for 20 minutes.
7. Record any observations.
 Calculation
1. Complete the fallowing table:
Temperature Temperature Time / min .No
of Water / °C of Oil / °C
2 .1
4 .2
6 .3
8 .4
10 .5

2. Draw the plot between temp. and time.

 Conclusion
The oil is heated more than water, therefore its
specific heat capacity less than water.
Part B
 Calculation
1. Recorded the result of both water and oil
according to the table below:

SI unit Recorded data Water .No

kg g Mass of beaker .1
kg g Mass of beaker with .2
100ml of water
C° C° Initial temp. of water .3
C° C° Final temp. of water .4
sec min Time it take for the .5
water to reach the 80 °C
SI unit Recorded data Oil .No
kg g Mass of beaker .1
kg g Mass of beaker with .2
100ml of oil
C° C° Initial temp. of oil .3
C° C° Final temp. of oil .4
sec min Time it take for the .5
oil to reach the 80 °C

specific heat capacity Samples .No

J/(kg K)(
1670 Oil .1
4184 water .2
2. Calculate the heat q:
𝒒=𝒎 . 𝒄 . ∆ 𝑻
 

𝒒=𝒎 . 𝒔 . ∆ 𝑻
 

3. Calculate the power:

  𝒒
𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 =
𝒕
Specific heat
The specific heat of petroleum oils can be modeled as
follows
 
[ 0.388 – 0.00046T ]

where C is measured in BTU/(lb °F), T is the temperature

in Fahrenheit and d is the specific gravity at 60 °F (16 °C).

In units of kcal/(kg·°C), the formula is:

 
[ 0.4024 – 0.00081T ]
where the temperature t is in Celsius and d is the specific
gravity at 15 °C.
Specific Gravity g/cm3 at Samples .No
60 °F and 15 °C
0.924 Sunflower oil .1
0.96 – 0.81 Diesel Fuel Oil .2
0.74 Gasoline .3
 Part C Procedure:
1. Take the sample about 50 ml.
2. Measure the temperature of sample in °C.
3. Convert the temperature in °F.

Calculation
1. Calculate heat capacity (temp must be in °F):
 
[ 0.388 – 0.00046T ]
2. Calculate heat capacity (temp must be in °C):
 
[ 0.4024 – 0.00081T ]