Specific Heats of Metals

PreAP Chemistry PAK 10 Lab

Ky Duong

Background:
Heat flows from a warmer object to a cooler object. As heat flows, the temperature of the warmer object decreases
and the temperature of the cooler object increases. The magnitude of the temperature change depends in part upon
what each object is made of. Objects that experience a small temperature change for a given amount of heat
transfer have a high specific heat.

Problem: How can you use water to measure the specific heat of metals?

Objective:
➢ Use a calorimeter.
➢ Measure changes in the temperature of water in the calorimeter when warmer metals are added.
➢ Calculate the specific heat of each metal.

Materials:
YOU MUST WEAR GOGGLES FOR THIS LAB! ONLY 1 WARNING WILL BE GIVEN TO YOUR GROUP.
➢ 3 metal samples
➢ Foam cups
➢ Beakers
 ➢ Graduated cylinder
➢ Scissors
➢ Balance
➢ Hot plate
➢ Thermometer

Procedure:
1. Place the calorimeter (see photo below) in one of the beakers to keep it from tipping over.

2. Measure the mass of each metal sample to the nearest 0.1 g. Record the masses in the Data Table.
3. Add water to the empty beaker. Place all three metal samples in the beaker. Be sure the water level
in the beaker is above the tops of the metal samples. Add more water to cover the metal samples if
necessary. (The strings of the metal should hang on the outside) [2 metal blocks should be able to
fit side by side]
4. Set the beaker of water with the metal samples on the hot plate. Turn on the hot plate and heat the
water to a boil.
5. While the water and metal samples are heating, measure about 75 mL of cold water into the
graduated cylinder. Measure the volume to the nearest 0.1 mL. Record this volume in the Data
Table under “volume of cold water.”
6. Pour the cold water into the calorimeter. Measure the temperature of the cold water every minute
until it stays the same for 1 minute. Record this temperature as the initial water temperature in
the Data Table.
7. After the water with the metal samples has been boiling for 5 minutes, record the temperature of
the water in the Data Table as the initial metal temperature. Assume that the metal samples are
at the same temperature as the boiling water.
8. Use the string to carefully remove one of the metal samples. Carefully slide the metal sample into
the cold water in the calorimeter without splashing. Quickly put the top on the calorimeter.
9. Insert the thermometer through the hole in the calorimeter top. Make sure the tip is in the water.
10. Very gently swirl the beaker containing the calorimeter while monitoring the temperature. Do
NOT allow the metal sample to hit the thermometer; this may cause it to break. Monitor and
record the highest temperature attained by the water as the final temperature of the metal sample
in the Data Table.
11. Remove the metal sample from the calorimeter. Pour the water down the drain.
12. Repeat the steps 5-11 for all three metal samples.

Clean up:
➢ Turn off the hot plate. If the beaker is too hot to touch, just leave the water in it. If it is cool
enough, pour the water down the drain.
 ➢ Dry the metal samples and counters.
➢ Return all equipment to its proper place.
➢ Wash your hands.

Objective:
What is the purpose of the experiment?

The experiment aims to find the specific heat capacities of metal samples by observing their
interactions with cold water, measuring temperatures, and calculating specific heat using energy
conservation, illustrating heat transfer and thermal equilibrium concepts.

Hypothesis:
A testable prediction of the experiment results. It can be in the form of an if/then statement.

If the specific heat capacities of the two metal samples are different, then the final temperature change
observed in the calorimeter for each metal sample will vary depending on the heat capacity of the
metal. Metals with lower specific heat capacities will cause the water temperature to rise more than
metals with higher specific heat capacities.

Data Table:

Metal Sample 1 Metal Sample 2

Fe Al

Mass of metal (g) 247.8 g 87.6 g

Volume of cold water (mL) 74.5 mL 75 mL

Initial water temperature (℃) 21 C 22 C

Initial metal temperature (℃) 81 C 95 C

Final temperature (℃) 40 C 36 C

Change in water temp (℃) + 19 C + 14 C

Change in metal temp (℃) - 41 C - 59 C

4.184*74.4*19= J =
Heat gained by water (J) 4.184*75*14= J = 4,393.02 J
5,914.502 J

Specific heat (J/gᐧ℃) 0.582 J/gᐧ℃ 0.85 J/gᐧ℃

Analysis Questions:
1. Calculate the change in water temperature caused by each metal. Record the results in the Data
Table.
2. Calculate the change in each metal’s temperature. Record the results in the Data Table.
3. Use the equation in Section 15.1 of your textbook to calculate the amount of heat gained by the
water from each metal. (To determine the mass of water, remember its density is 1.00 g/mL)
Record the results in the Data Table.
4. Use the same equation to calculate the specific heat of each metal. Rearrange the equation to solve
for specific heat and assume that the amount of heat gained by the water is equal to the heat lost
by the metal. Record the results in the Data Table.

5. To calculate each metal’s specific heat, it is assumed that the amount of heat lost by the metal
equals the amount of heat gained by the water. What factors determine whether this assumption is
valid or not? (Hint: Identify the system and the surroundings in this experiment)
Factors that might affect the validity of this assumption would be poor insulation of the calorimeter
which could cause the heat to be lost to the surrounding, affecting the assumption.

6. Which metal released the most heat given a decrease in temperature per gram of metal? Would it
be a good idea to make a frying pan using this metal? Explain why or why not.
Aluminum released the most heat, and it wouldn’t be the best metal to utilize to make a frying pan.
You’d like your frying pan to hold heat so that it could be hot enough to cook your food, and it would be
more cost effective on your gas bill.
 7. Compare the specific heats you calculated to the known values found in your textbook or on the
Internet. Clearly label the measured and theoretical values and use the formula below to calculate
the percent error. Show your work.

8. It is possible to remove a sheet of aluminum foil from a hot oven with your bare hands without
burning yourself. However, you will surely burn yourself if you touch a thick aluminum pan in the
same hot oven with your bare hands. Explain using thermochemistry principles.
Aluminum foil has low thermal mass and quickly loses heat, making it relatively safe to touch. The thick
aluminum pan, with its high heat capacity, stores a large amount of heat and can transfer it to your skin,
causing a burn.

9. One way to identify the composition of metal fragments found at the site of an explosion is to
measure the specific heat of the fragments. Suppose a fragment is found to have a specific heat of
0.129 J/gᐧ℃. Would this information alone be enough to identify the metal in the fragment?
Explain why or why not.
The specific heat of 0.129 J/g·°C provides a clue about the possible identity of the metal fragments
found at the site, however it is an insufficient piece of information by itself to conclusively identify the
metal; additional physical or chemical properties must be measured to make a definitive conclusion.

Conclusion:
A single, short paragraph that sums up what happened in the experiment, whether the hypothesis was supported or not by the
data, and what this means.

In this experiment, the specific heats of iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) were determined by measuring the
heat transfer between heated metal samples and cold water in a calorimeter. The calculated specific
heat of iron was 0.582 J/g·℃, and for aluminum, it was 0.85 J/g·℃. These values are reasonably close to
their known specific heats, supporting the hypothesis that the heat lost by the metal equals the heat
gained by the water, provided the system is sufficiently insulated. The results confirm that aluminum,
with a higher specific heat, requires more energy per gram to change its temperature compared to iron,
reflecting differences in their thermal properties. Minor errors may be attributed to heat losses to the
surroundings or calorimeter.