InstitutoTecnolgicoydeEstudiosSuperioresdeMonterrey

CampusCiudaddeMxico

InternationalBaccalaureate
PhysicsSL
LabReport:SpecificHeatCapacity

Candidatenames:
KatiaFernandaAlbiterVera
A01339936
AlanGaleanaVega
A01339200
DiegoMendietaAhumada
A01339307
DianaKarenTrejoVargas
A01339524
DanielVillanuevaRaisman
A01339031

Sessionyear:May2017
Teachersname:RogelioOscarCaballeroPrez
LabReport:SpecificHeatCapacity

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

ResearchQuestion:
How will different amounts of room temperature water in a closed system have an effectonthe
specificheatcapacityofcopper?
BackgroundInformation:
When a given material is heated, its temperature increases in a certain amount depending on its
physical and chemical properties. Every material has different responses to a given amount of
heat energy due to its microscopic structure this is a given quantityofheatenergywillproduce
different temperature changes among different material. This capacity is called specific heat
C
1
1
and is measured in the following units: energymasstemperature
,andiscommonlyreferredto
as the energy needed to increase by 1 Kelvin the temperature of a 1 kg mass of the given
substance, or the corresponding for other units.Thespecificheatdependsonlyonthesubstance,
independently of its geometry. Therefore, the increase in temperature of a material of mass
m
Q
when exposed to a heat energy transferof
Qwillbe T = mC ,withwhichweobtaintheformula
Q
forspecificheat C = mT
.(Hamper,2014,105111)

Measuring the specific heat capacity of materials can be done through various techniques:
intuitively for a given substance mass we could measure the temperature increase as a function
of supplied heat energy and obtain
C in a straightforward manner. However, this requires the
absolutemeasurementofthetransferredheat,whichisfrequentlydifficult.
An alternative technique consists of provoking theexchangeofheatbetweenthesubstancetobe
measured, and another reference material of known
C
therefore, at the final equilibrium state,
r
the absolute value of heat loss from one material equals the absolute heat gain by the other. In
this case, only temperature measurements are necessary because the heat transfer is given by
mrCrT r
msC sT s = mrC rT r , from which
C
s can be obtained as C s = msT s . We will measure
T r = T rf T ri , and T s = T sf T si . Now, as in the final thermodynamical equilibrium
T rf = T sf , we only need to measure three temperatures
T
T
. This method
si ,
ri and T rf = T sf

assumes that there is no heat loss. Hence, we have toworkinasomewhatisolatedenvironment,

tryingnottowaittoolongbeforethemeasurementsarerecorded.
Hypothesis:
In the closed system of the hot metal inside the room temperature water there would be a heat
transfer from the metal to the water. When it reaches its final equilibrium state, the absolute
valueofheatlossfromonematerialwillequaltheabsoluteheatgainbytheother.
1 1
Theexpectedspecificheatcapacityforcopperwouldbeof0.385Jg
K
.(KeithGibbs,2013)

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

Variables:
Table1.1:Experimentalvariablesandtheirimpact
Variables

Likelyimpactupontheinvestigation

Howthevariablewillbechanged/
measured/controlled

Independentvariable
Amount of water in
which the metal is
submerged(mL)

According to our hypothesis, the

amount of water must not have an
impact on the specificheat capacity of
the copper sample since its only one
of its properties. If we use a small
amount of water, its temperature raise
will be high, and vice versa,
maintaining
the
product
mT = constant
(C
= known
H2O
constant).

The experiment will be performed

ten times total, with threetrialsfor
100, 110, 120,130,and140mLof
water, which will be measured
using the volume marks on the
beakers. These values were chosen
because they are small enough to
allow for a significant temperature
change which can be easily
measured.

Dependentvariable
Change in water
temperature(C)
Specific heat for each
watervolume(C)

Althoughourfinalunknownquantityis
thespecific heatcapacityofthecopper
sample, this will beestimated with the
equation C s = mmrsCTrTs r , where
s
stands

The change in the water

temperature once the system
stabilizes will be measuredwiththe
thermometer.

for the copper sample, and

r for the
water. Actually, the only variable we
need is the final temperature of the
combined system (water and copper
sample), when the balance has been
reached.

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

Controlledvariables
Temperature of the
metalafterheating.
Typeofmetal
Massofthemetal

Uncontrolled
variables
Time
to
equilibrium
Heatloss

The initial temperature of the copper

sample will determine the amount of
heat thewaterwillabsorb.Thehotterit
is, the higher temperature the water
gets.
Each type of metal has an expected
specificheatcapacitythatwillhavean
influenceontheexperiment.
The copper samples mass intervenes
in the equation since we have to
measure it necessarily in order to
obtainthespecificheat.

Theinitialtemperatureof themetal
willbecontrolledbymeasuringthe
temperaturewithaninfraredsensor.
Thisvaluewillbekeptat100C.
We will only use copper in our
experiment in order to obtain its
specificheatcapacity.
We will use the same copper
sample for all trials, in order to
maintainaconstantmass.

Since wehave limitedtimeto perform

the experiment, we will not take into
reach accountthe time neededforthesystem
to reach a temperature equilibrium.
Thisshortertimemeansthatthesystem
mightnotreachaperfectequilibrium.
We assume that there is no heat loss,
this isthetotalenergyfrom thecopper
sample is transferred to the water
however, for longer settling times,
some heat will be lost to the
environment due to air currents and
pressure,amongothers.

We will immediately place the

copper sample into the water to
minimize the amount of heat
transferred to the environment. We
will also wait an appropriate
amount of time deemed necessary
for the system to approach the
equilibrium, which is when the
ongoing change in temperature
becomesnegligible.

Apparatus:
Coppersample
Safetygoggles
Water(1200mL)
Hotplate
Tweezers
LabQuestInterface
TemperatureSensor

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

4beakersof200mL
Graduatedcylinder
Method:
1. Measurethemassofthe200mLbeaker.
2. Pour100mLofwaterintothe200mLbeakerandmeasurethenewmass.
3. Measurethemassofthecoppersample.
4. Introducethethermometerinthebeakerandwritedownthewaterstemperature.
5. Turn thehotplateonandheatthe coppersampleuntilitarrivestoatemperatureof100C
measuredwiththetemperaturesensor.
6. Usingthetweezers,grabthecoppersampleanddropitintothebeaker.
7. With the help of the temperature sensor, watch for the change of temperature in the
water.
8. Wait for the system to reach a temperature equilibrium, which is when the ongoing
change in temperature becomes negligible, and measure the final temperature of the
water.
9. Redo the experiment with 10 more mL of water inthebeakerandstopwhen140mLare
reached,makingsuretoperformtwotrialsforeachdifferentamountofwater.
Figure1.1:ExperimentalSetup

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

SafetyandEthicalConsiderations:
This lab experiment has many possible hazards that can be reflected in the results we get. We
will be careful in keeping the room temperature the samebutiftheclimechangesassodoesthe
temperature we will need to consider this as an uncontrollable variable caused by this
environmental impact. We mustalsokeepinmindthatwearedealingwithhotmaterials,boiling
water and heated copper hence, we must use the tweezers and be very careful to avoid any
spilling of boiling water. A lab coat isessentialincaseofanyaccidentthatmightoccurwiththe
hot water or apparatus that will beused.Wealsoneedtoanticipatesome sources oferrorincase
metal we chose for our experiment does not give us the results that we need,perhapsbecauseit
was not what the team expected, then we will have other metals available just in case. The
success in the lab can be measured easily as the specificheatofcopperhasbeenanalyzedmany
times before so we will compare our results with the theoretical ones to see what ourmarginof
error was and how we can improve. The social impact of our lab might not seem very
straightforward but it can help prospective students see our methodology and results in order to
improvethemortakethemintoaccount.
Analysis:
After retrieving the data of the experiment we made a table showing the change of the water
volume, IV, its mass added to the mass of the beaker and the final and initial temperature in
ordertofindoutthechangeintemperatureDV.
Table 1.2: Data retrieved and organized of watervolume,mass,initialandfinaltemperatureand
changeoftemperature.
Water
volume
(mL)
1.0mL

Beaker Beaker+Water Initial

No.
Mass(g)
Temperature
0.01g
oftheWater
(C)
0.1
C

Final
Temperature
(C)
0.1
C

Changeof
Temperature
Water
(C)
0.2
C

Changeof
Temperature
Copper
(C)
0.2
C

100mL

202.69

15.9

20.3

4.4

79.7

222.26

15.5

19.4

3.9

80.6

222.74

15.8

20.5

4.7

79.5

220.10

16.5

21.0

4.5

79.0

230.75

16.0

19.4

3.4

80.6

233.38

16.3

18.8

2.5

81.2

110mL

120mL

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

130mL

140mL

229.02

15.9

21.2

5.3

78.8

251.58

16.3

19.6

3.3

80.4

259.91

16.1

19.8

3.7

80.2

239.49

16.1

19.9

3.8

80.1

Then a graph was produced with the data collected and the calculated change of temperature in
which we saw how the values wegotwereverycloseanddidnotseemtobeproportionalonthe
graph. As the scale of the mass of water was big the uncertainties on the x axis were negligible
and did not appear in the graph while the uncertainties in y axis wereconsiderablebut still very
small.
Graph1.1:ChangeofTemperaturevsMassofWater

In this case calculations will be required to determine the specific heat capacity of copper. For
1
this,thespecificheatcapacityofwaterwasrequiredwhichis4.186JK
(KeithGibbs,2013).
The mass and the change of temperature calculated before were also necessary todeterminethe
amount of energy that the mass of water gained. By reference on the law of conservation of
energy we know that the sum of the total energy in an isolated system will remain constant as
this energy isn't lost but transferred from one body to another. Based on this, we are able to
deduce that the caloric energy that the water gained was transferred from the copper, in other
words the copper lost the same joules the water gained as energy is conserved. We also know
thatbythezerolawofthermodynamics

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

To calculate the specificheatofcopper,wefirstusedthespecificheatofwater,themassandthe

change of temperature to calculate the amount of energy that the mass of water gained. Basing
ourselves on the law of conservation of energy, we know that energy cannot be created, only
transferred and transformed.Usingthatknowledge,wecandeducethatthecaloricenergygained
by the water came from the copper, in other words, the copper lost the same joules the water
gained.
Because of the Zeroth Law of thermodynamics, we know that the final temperature of water is
the same as the final temperature of copper when both are in thermal equilibrium. Then by
knowing the mass of copperand havingcalculatedthechangeintemperatureandtheenergythat
it represents. We can applythefollowingformula (Mc)(T c)(C c) =Jor(massofcopper)(change
in temperature)(specific heat capacity)= Energy, tosolvefor (C c) andknowthatbydividingthe
energy by the product of the mass and the change of temperature we get the specific heat
capacity of the copper. We also used this formula withthequantitiesofwatersowecouldequal
the energy and produce only one formula that would give us the specific heat capacity of our
trials.
(M w)(T w)(C w) =J
and (M c)(T c)(C c )=J
then (M c)(T c)(C c) = (M w)(T w)(C w)
M
:Massofcopper
c

T c :Changeoftemperaturecopper

C c :Specificheatcapacitycopper

M
Massofwaterplus
w:

T w :Changeoftemperaturewater

C w :Specificheatcapacitywater

1
Specificheatcapacityofwater=4.186JK
(KeithGibbs,2013)

MassCu=58.13g
0.01g
The table below shows the average oftheamountofwater,changeoftemperatureofwaterfrom
table 1.1. With this and the specific heat capacity of water the total energy transfer was
calculated by using the formula (Mw)(T w)(C w )= J. Then the change of temperature of the
copper was determined by subtractingthefinaltemperatureofthewatertoa100Cwhichisthe
temperature in which water boils. With this values we could use the formula stated above of
(Mc)(T c)(C c) = (Mw)(T c)(C w) to get the specific heat capacity of copper and average the
resultsinordertoeliminaterandomerrorsandgetascloseaspossibletotheexpectedvalue.
Table 1.3: Average amount of amount of water, change of temperature in water and in copper
andspecificheatcapacityofcopper
.

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

1 1
Water (g)

0.02 T water (C) Total
energy T Cu (C) (C p) 0.3Jg
K
g
0.2
transfer

0.22J 0.2

98.31

4.15

1707.8J

80.15

0.37

106.81

4.60

2056.7J

79.25

0.45

116.62

2.95

1440.1J

80.90

0.31

126.14

4.30

2270.5J

79.60

0.49

135.54

3.75

2127.6J

80.15

0.46

1 1
Average C c =0.4160.09Jg
K

We thus get the average of the column of specific heat capacity and we determine that the
1 1
specificheatcapacityofcopperisof
0.4160.09Jg
K
.
Conclusion:
In our experiment, we observed how the temperature change of water (DV) varied for different
initial values of the water volume. We expected that this change should decrease as the volume
of water increased so that the specificheatofcoppershouldremainconstantasthetheorystates.
However, in ourexperimentweobtainedsomedeviationsintheexpected temperaturechange,as
shown in Table 1.3, where we present the values of the calculated specific heat capacities for
each variable change. There was a considerable variation among thesevalues,whichmeansthat
our measurements were slightly imprecise. Albeit, when calculating theaverageofthesevalues,
1
1
we obtain aspecific heatcapacityofcopperof
0.4160.09Jg
K
(withouttakingintoaccount
significant figures) which, given the experimental uncertainties, is close to the theoretical value
1
1
of
0.385 J g
K
, exhibiting an experimental error of 8%, thus deeming our results reasonably
accurate.
Evaluation,improvementsandnextsteps:
Table1.4:Evaluationofexperimentalerrors
Weakness/Sourceoferror

Possible effect on data and Suggestedimprovement

magnitudeofweakness/error

Independentvariable:
The amount of water in
which the metal was
going to be submerged

The water measurements done In order to increase the accuracy

with the graduated cylinder had in
the
water
volume
an uncertaintyof1 milliliter, but measurements, we could use a
while pouring the water inside,

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

was measured with a

graduated cylinder, an
instrument that leaves a
verysmalluncertainty.

the water started forming some shallower container, such as a

bubbles due to its fall into the smallerglassgraduatedcylinder.
container, which might have
affected the measurement more
thanexpected.

Dependentvariable
The
change
of
temperature in the water
was measured with a
LabQuest
Interface,
which is a reasonably
accurate system and has
littleuncertainty.
Thespecificheatforeach
water volume didnt was
not consistent with the
expected results since
they did present a small
variation but our specific
heat calculations were
accurate.

The total energy transfer had an

uncertainty of 0.2C, which
means the instrument was
adequate to measure the water
temperature. The collected data
showed us that there is a
variation in the coppersspecific
heat depending on the waters
volume with an experimental
error of 8% compared to the
theoreticalvalue.

In order to minimize that 8%

error ratio, we could use water
that had thesame temperature or
with a minimum difference
throughout the differentsamples.
Besides this, the LabQuest
Interface
continually
kept
showing changes in the copper
samplestemperature.Thismeant
the measurements were not
accurate and this can be
improved by using other heat
calculating instruments, like an
infrared sensor with a bigger
ratio than the one we first
plannedonusing.

Controlvariables
The temperature of the
metal after heating was
not properly measured
since theres always a
heat loss whentheobject
moves. This happened
when putting it into the
waterbeaker.
Thetypeof metalhadno
variation whatsoever and
neitherdiditsmass.

Thecoppersamplestemperature
change had an uncertainty of
0.2C, but it might have also
presented avariationon the total
energytransferfrom themetalto
the water. Besides this, the air
currents and the temperature of
the environment might have
slightly affected the data while
measuring with the LabQuest
Interface.

We could improve the precision

oftheexperimentbyreducingthe
transition length betweenthehot
plate and the beaker (this will
lower the temperature variation
ratio) anduse another instrument
to measure the samples
temperature, like an RTD., that
has an average uncertainty of
only 0.03C. We could also
isolate the system more
effectively using appropriate
containers.

Uncontrollederrors
The heat loss from the
moment the copper was
removed from the hot
plate and dropped into
thewaterbeaker.

The experiment had minimum

variations when calculating the
specific heat capacity, since the
collected data has a different
magnitude than the expected
theoreticalvalue.

As an improvement a faster
process when taking the copper
from the hot plate into the water
woulddecreaseourerrors.
The air conditions can not be
controlled in the lab, but the
experiment could be done,

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

The labs temperature

and
air
currents
influenced the copper
samples
heat
measurements.

QualitativeData
Thecontactofthecopper
sample with the glass
beakerwasunregulated.
The copper sample made
contact with the table
accidentally.

10

instead, in a vacuum chamber

anditwillbemoreaccurate.

Some heat from the copper

sample was transferred to the
beakerinsteadofthewateritself,
thus being another source for
unmeasured heat loss to the
environment. Furthermore, in
some cases the tweezers didnt
provide a stable handle on the
copper sample, which provoked
its accidental drop on the table,
and although we recovered it
immediately,itdidprovoke,once
again,anunmeasuredheatloss.

We could suspend the copper

sample froma stringsothatthere
is no point of contact with the
beaker. This could also help
lifting the sample from the hot
plate since it would provide a
better support than the tweezers
weoriginallyused.

Albiter,Galeana,Mendieta,Trejo,Villanueva

11

References:
Hamper,C.(2014).
StandardLevelPhysics
(2nded.).Essex:Pearson.
Keith Gibbs. (2013). Heat Energy. School Physics. Retrieved February 16, 2016, from:
http://www.schoolphysics.co.uk/age1416/Heat%20energy/Heat%20energy/text/Specific_heat_c
apacity_and_heat_energy/index.html