LATENT HEAT OF FUSION
Activity 10
I. OBJECTIVE
Define specific latent heat
Describe how specific latent heat of fusion can be measured.
II. DISCUSSION
Latent heat, energy absorbed or released by a substance during a change in its
physical state (phase) that occurs without changing its temperature. The latent heat
associated with melting a solid or freezing a liquid is called the heat of fusion; that
associated with vaporizing a liquid or a solid or condensing a vapour is called the heat
of vaporization. The latent heat is normally expressed as the amount of heat (in units
of joules or calories) per mole or unit mass of the substance undergoing a change of
state.
For example, when a pot of water is kept boiling, the temperature remains at 100 °C
(212 °F) until the last drop evaporates, because all the heat being added to the liquid is
absorbed as latent heat of vaporization and carried away by the escaping vapour
molecules. Similarly, while ice melts, it remains at 0 °C (32 °F), and the liquid water
that is formed with the latent heat of fusion is also at 0 °C. The heat of fusion for
water at 0 °C is approximately 334 joules (79.7 calories) per gram, and the heat of
vaporization at 100 °C is about 2,230 joules (533 calories) per gram. Because the heat
of vaporization is so large, steam carries a great deal of thermal energy that is released
when it condenses, making water an excellent working fluid for heat engines.
Latent heat arises from the work required to overcome the forces that hold together
atoms or molecules in a material. The regular structure of a crystalline solid is
maintained by forces of attraction among its individual atoms, which oscillate slightly
about their average positions in the crystal lattice. As the temperature increases, these
motions become increasingly violent until, at the melting point, the attractive forces
are no longer sufficient to maintain the stability of the crystal lattice. However,
additional heat (the latent heat of fusion) must be added (at constant temperature) in
order to accomplish the transition to the even more-disordered liquid state, in which
the individual particles are no longer held in fixed lattice positions but are free to
move about through the liquid. A liquid differs from a gas in that the forces of
attraction between the particles are still sufficient to maintain a long-range order that
endows the liquid with a degree of cohesion. As the temperature further increases, a
second transition point (the boiling point) is reached where the long-range order
becomes unstable relative to the largely independent motions of the particles in the
much larger volume occupied by a vapour or gas. Once again, additional heat (the
latent heat of vaporization) must be added to break the long-range order of the liquid
and accomplish the transition to the largely disordered gaseous state.
Latent heat is associated with processes other than changes among the solid, liquid,
and vapour phases of a single substance. Many solids exist in different crystalline
modifications, and the transitions between these generally involve absorption or
evolution of latent heat. The process of dissolving one substance in another often
involves heat; if the solution process is a strictly physical change, the heat is a latent
heat. Sometimes, however, the process is accompanied by a chemical change, and part
of the heat is that associated with the chemical reaction. See also melting.
III. CONCLUSION
In experimenting can be repeated and conducted more than once, in order to obtain
average readings which could lead to more appropriate results and more accurate
values and it would help to reduce random errors which affected the results obtained.
There might have been significant heat loss to the surrounding while transferring the
hot water from the beaker into the calorimeter and this heat loss might have affected
the values and results.
There might have been significant heat gain from the surrounding while measuring
the mass of the ice in the calorimeter and this heat gain might have affected the values
and
The main source of error in this experiment was due to the limitation in the choice of
apparatus used, the use of better and more accurate equipment would lead to more
accurate results (results without errors). For example, rather than using a normal
laboratory analogue thermometer which has an error of ± 0.05 oC, it is better to use a
digital thermometer which is more exact leading to more accurate temperature
readings and hence, results.
Written Report
Presented to
Ms. Meriam Gabule
Mindanao State University
Marawi City
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Course
Physics 11 (Introductory Physics 1)
1st Semester, 2018-2019
by
Hasnairah M. Limbotongan
November 14, 2018
