Overview
- Make sure you know how your computer/device saves files/images (e.g. right-click and Save As..., etc.)
Follow this link to get details on how to save your data plots - Read the background material to help you understand the concepts related to this activity
- Get the Activity Form and Additional Data (look under the Activity Form tab)
- In Table IV of the Activity Form, record the mass of each cube, mass of the liquid, and the specific heat of the liquid
- Pick two hot plate temperature settings, one high and one low, for your data runs (record in Table I of Activity Form)
Note: the hot plate temperature setting runs from 50 °C to 90 °C (in 5 °C increments) - Record initial cube temperatures as 20.00 °C in Table II of Activity Form
- Close any unneeded browser tabs for best performance
Activity Procedure
In this activity you will observe and record time and temperature data during two heat transfer processes. In the first process a cube of material will be heated by a hot plate. In the second process the heated cube will be transferred into a liquid at a different temperature. In both processes, heat will be transferred and temperature will change. The timing, and amount of temperature change, are determined by mass, the initial difference in temperature, amount of heat transferred, and thermal properties of the various substances. Your data will allow you to calculate the specific heat capacity of the cube materials.
- select a cube by clicking or tapping on its button
- set the Hot Plate temperature using the slider (use the values from Table I of your Activity Form ‐ see Pre-Activity Checklist)
- click the Heat Cube button and record data in Table II of your Activity Form
- click the Move Cube button and record data in Table III ‐ see the Temperature Plots tab for summary data
Note: allow 60 seconds for the data run to complete ‐ do not interrupt the data run - press the reset button and run your second trial and/or move on to the next cube
Post-Activity
Calculations and Questions. After successfully completing the steps above for each cube, visit the Temperature Plots tab to view and save your plots (your instructor may require these items to be submitted along with your completed Activity Form). To complete Table IV, and help with the questions, please review the Background material (see Background tab) and your data.
Helpful Tip: The ultimate goal is to determine the specific heat capacity of each cube of material using the knowledge that heat transfer Q occurs between the cube and the liquid. Carefully review the "Specific Heat Capacity and Heat Transfer" section of the Background material to understand how to calculate the heat transfer into the liquid. Once you know the heat transfer into the liquid you will be able to determine the heat transfer from the cube and then its specific heat.