HEATSH6849

This product is intended for use

by students aged 13 years or older,
under competent adult supervision.

INSTRUCTIONS AND EXPERIMENTS

for the

Specific Heat Set

Designed and manufactured by…

 Specific Heat Set HEATSH6849

Notes for the instructor

This is a set of five metal specimens, each having a mass of approximately 80 grams. Each specimen
has been stamped with a letter A-E, which identifies the type of substance. These specimens are
intended for lab exercises involving finding the specific heat of a substance. They may also be used
for other purposes, such as density determination. Included is a standard lab exercise that guides
students through a typical method for determining the specific heat of each of the samples. Likely
sources of inaccuracy in the lab stem from inadequate mixing of the water around the sample as the
heat is transferred, as well as incorrect placement of the thermometer within the Styrofoam® container
while measuring (if too near the metal sample, inaccuracy will result). Some teachers may prefer to
supply only the first page of the experiment (containing the basic theory of the lab), thus allowing for a
more challenging laboratory experience.

Letter Sample J/g C0 cal/g C0

A. Zinc .39 .092
B. Aluminum .90 .21
C. Stainless Steel (iron) .45 .11
D. Copper .39 .092
E. Brass .35 .090

Additional materials needed

• 1 metric balance
• 1 thermometer or temperature sensor
• 3 Styrofoam® coffee cups, or (better) 1 Styrofoam®
calorimetry cup with lid, available from certain suppliers
• 1 insulating cover such as foam or wood (not needed if using
a calorimetry cup)
• 1 glass beaker, 250 ml, or similar
• 1 heat source such as electric hot plate
• 1 stirring rod
• 1 piece of string, heavy thread, or fine wire

Safety:
Please teach and expect safe behavior in your classroom and lab.
Safety considerations call for supervision of students at all times, use of safety eyewear, no horseplay,
and immediate reporting to the instructor of accidents or breakages, among others. This set is intended
primarily for students aged 13 years and older, when working under competent adult supervision.

Of particular concern with this experiment is that students will be exposed to both hot plates and
boiling water. Extreme care should be taken to prevent students from getting burned.

Copyright Notice and Copy Permission:

This manual is copyrighted, and all rights are reserved. However, permission is granted to non-profit educational
institutions for reproduction of any part of the manual, providing the copies are used only for their classrooms and
laboratories and are not sold for profit. Any other reproduction without the written permission of the copyright holder is
prohibited.

2009 Transparent Devices LLC

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Specific Heat Set HEATSH6849

Experiment: Finding the specific heat of a substance

Theory
When heat flows into or out of an object, the object’s temperature gradually changes. (An exception to
this concept is when the object undergoes a phase change such as melting or boiling.)

When looking at temperature changes from heat transfer, there are several variables involved:

First, a larger temperature change suggests a larger heat flow.

Second, a temperature change in an object of greater mass would suggest a greater heat
transfer than the same temperature change in an object of lesser mass.

Finally, we must consider a basic thermal property of the substance. This inherent property of
a substance is termed the “specific heat” of the substance, or “specific heat capacity.”

These ideas can be incorporated into the following equation:

Q = ∆T m C
Where:
Q is the amount of heat transferred
∆T is the temperature change
m is the mass of the object
C is a constant that depends on the type of material (its specific heat or specific heat capacity).
This value is NOT the same as “heat capacity,” which is the property of a particular object
rather than a property of the substance in general.

Experimental overview

In this experiment, you will heat a substance (a metal sample) in boiling water to assure the
metal has reached a temperature of 1000C. The object will then be immediately placed in an
insulated cup of cooler water of a known starting temperature. When the hot metal is placed in
the cooler water, heat energy will be transferred from the metal to the water. A key point here
is that the amount of heat gained by the water (Q(water)) is the same amount of heat lost by the
metal (Q(metal)). Knowing this value, the mass of the metal, and the specific heat of water
(given as 1 calorie/g C0, or 4.184 J/g C0 in SI units) will allow you to calculate the specific heat
capacity for that metal.

2009 Transparent Devices LLC

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Specific Heat Set HEATSH6849

Procedure

1. Obtain a metal sample from your instructor.

2. Record the letter stamped on the metal sample: ______
3. Obtain a hot plate and a heat resistant container. Place the metal sample in the container and
fill it with enough hot tap water to completely cover the metal sample. Remove the sample.
Place the container on the hot plate. Be sure that you have placed the hot plate in a safe
location, free of obstructions and the possibility that it will be accidentally bumped.

4. Turn on the hot plate and set it to its highest setting. While the water is coming to a boil, go on
to the next steps.

5. Dry the sample. Using a balance, find the mass of the sample: ______

6. Obtain three stacked Styrofoam® coffee cups with a lid

containing a hole for a thermometer, or one Styrofoam®
calorimetry cup. Find the mass of the cup(s).

Initial cup(s) mass: ______

7. Tie a string through the hole in the metal sample such

that the sample can be lowered into and raised from the
water on the burner and the water in the Styrofoam®
cup(s) without your hands touching the water.

8. Place the metal sample in the cup with the string hanging
outside of the cup. Using the coolest available tap water,
cover the sample with the minimum amount of water
required to completely submerge it. Remove the metal
using the string. Now reweigh the cup(s) with the water:

Water with cup(s) mass: __________

9. Find the mass of the water by subtracting the mass of the

cup(s) from the mass of the cup(s) with water.

Mass of the water: _________

10. Once the water on the burner has come to a boil, place the
metal sample in the boiling water with the string hanging
out of the container. Allow the metal sample to sit in the
boiling water for at least 2 minutes. Meanwhile, complete
step 11. Be sure not to allow the string to touch the
burner of the hot plate.

2009 Transparent Devices LLC

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Specific Heat Set HEATSH6849

11. While your sample is heating in the boiling water,

measure the temperature of the cool tap water in the
Styrofoam® cup(s) with a thermometer. Be sure to
replace the lid.

Water temperature before heating: __________

12. Once your sample has been in the boiling water for at
least 2 minutes, transfer it to the water in the Styrofoam®
cup(s). This step must be done quickly but safely.
Immediately replace the cup’s lid and put the
thermometer in the hole in the lid. Be sure that the
thermometer never touches the metal sample. Now
monitor the temperature of the water in the Styrofoam®
cup(s) while gently swishing the cup(s) on the table.
Record the highest temperature achieved below. This is
the point at which the metal sample and the water have come to thermal equilibrium:

Maximum water temperature after heating: ___________

Be sure to turn off the burner!

13. Νοw calculate ∆T(water) (the difference between the starting temperature of the water (from
step 11) and the maximum temperature after heating (step 12)): ______

Note that the units of this value should be C0 (Celsius degrees), not 0C (degrees Celsius), as it
denotes a difference in temperature, not a specific temperature.

14. You are now ready to calculate the amount of heat transferred to the water by the metal.
To do this we will use the equation:

Q(water) = ∆T(water) m(water) C(water)

Where:
∆T(water) = the temperature change (found in step 13): ______
m(water) = the mass of the water (found in step 5): _______
C(water) = the specific heat of water, given as 1 calorie/g C0 (or in other units, 4.184 J/g C0)
Show your work here:

Q(water) = ____________

2009 Transparent Devices LLC

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Specific Heat Set HEATSH6849

15. You can now calculate the specific heat of your metal (C(metal)).

Given that the amount of heat gained by the water must have been the same as the amount of
heat lost by the metal, we can assume that Q(water) and Q(metal) are equal in magnitude.
Therefore:

Q(water) = Q(metal) = ∆T(metal) m(metal) C(metal)

Solving for C(metal) we get:

C(metal) = Q(metal)
∆T(metal) m(metal)

∆T(metal) = the difference between the initial temperature of the metal (1000C in this case, as
it was in boiling water at the time) minus its final temperature (this will be the same
temperature as the maximum temperature of the water in the Styrofoam® cup(s) when the water
and the metal came to thermal equilibrium – step 12).

1000C - ________ (from step 12) = __________

Again note that the units of this value should be C0 (Celsius degrees), not 0C (degrees Celsius),
as it denotes a difference in temperature, not a specific temperature.

m(metal) = the mass metal sample (found in step 5): _______

Show your work here:

C(metal) = ____________

2009 Transparent Devices LLC

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