(i) Specific heat of solid 

    Materials Required 

Copper calorimeter with lid, stirrer, and insulating cover, two thermometers (0 °C to 100 °C or 110 °C with a least count of 0.5 °C), a 250 ml beaker, water, a metallic solid cylinder that is insoluble in water, weighing machine, a piece of strong nonflexible thread (25-30 cm long), laboratory stand, tripod stand, wire gauze and a bunsen burner.

 

   The Procedure

 Real Lab Procedure

• Set the weighing machine and make sure there is no zero error. 
• Take a clean and dry empty calorimeter.  
• Weigh the empty calorimeter with the stirrer and lid using a weighing machine. Note this as mass m₁ of the calorimeter. 
• Pour an adequate amount of water into the calorimeter to completely submerge the given solid.  
• Weigh the calorimeter with water and note its mass m₂. Place the calorimeter in its insulating cover. 
• Measure the temperature of the water in the calorimeter using a thermometer. Wait till the reading in the thermometer becomes stable. Note this as t₁. 
• Remove the thermometer and keep it aside. 
• Take another thermometer and hang it from the laboratory stand. 
• Weigh the given solid using a weighing machine and note down its mass m₃. 
• Take a 250ml beaker. Fill half of it with water and place it on the wire gauze kept on a tripod stand.  
• Tie one end of a strong non-flexible thread tightly to the middle of the solid.  
• Suspend the solid in the beaker containing water by tying the free end of the thread to a laboratory stand. Confirm the solid remains completely submerged in water and is at least 0.5cm below the surface.  
• This step is important to ensure that the metal attains the same temperature as the water on heating.   
• Boil the water with the solid suspended in it for about 5-10 minutes. Measure the temperature t₂ of the water with the other thermometer. 
• Remove the solid from boiling water by holding the thread tied to it. Shake to remove any water sticking on its surface and quickly put it in the water in the calorimeter. Replace the lid immediately. Be careful to minimise the time sample spends in contact with air. 
• Stir the water with the stirrer. Measure the final temperature of the mixture once it becomes constant on attaining equilibrium. Record this temperature as t₃. 

 

Simulation Procedure

• Click on the drop down menu to choose between specific heat of solid and specific heat of liquid. 
• From the drop down menu select the material of calorimeter.  
• Slide the range to select mass of calorimeter (m₁).
• Slide the range to select mass of water (m₂).
• Slide the range to select the temperature of the liquid (t₁). In general, you may take water to be at room temperature of 25°C.
• Drag and drop calorimeter along with the stirrer on to the weighting machine to measure weight as m₁.
• Drag a 250 ml beaker with water and pour it into the calorimeter kept on the weighing machine to measure the weight as (m₁ + m₂).
• Drop the calorimeter back into the insulating box. 
• Drag a thermometer towards the calorimeter inside the insulating box and measure the temperature of water in calorimeter as t₁. 
• From the drop down menu select the Material of solid. 
• Slide the range to select Mass of solid (m₃).
• Slide the range to select the Temperature up to which the solid has to be heated (t₂).
• Drag and drop the solid onto the weighting machine and measure its weight.  
• Drag the solid towards the thread to tie it.
• Drag the solid towards the laboratory stand such that it is suspended into the beaker containing water.
• Drag another thermometer and hang it from the laboratory stand.
• Click on the Bunsen burner to boil the water with the solid suspended in it.
• Click on the calorimeter to open it.
• Drag and drop the solid into the calorimeter immediately when the thermometer reads t2. 
• Click on the calorimeter to close it.
• Click on the stirrer to stir the contents in calorimeter.
• Note the final temperature of the mixture t₃. 
• From the values obtained calculate the specific heat capacity of solid. Remember to use the same units.
• Click on the result button to view the experimental result.
• Click on the fetch button to view the values obtained from the experiment.
• Click on the result button to view the final experimental result.
• Click on reset button to redo the experiment.
• Select the method as specific heat of liquid to proceed with finding the specific heat of the given liquid using a solid with known specific heat capacity.                                                        

    Observation 

Mass of the empty calorimeter with stirrer (m₁) = ___ g 

Mass of the calorimeter with water (m₂) = ___ g 

Mass of solid (m₃) = ___ g 

Initial temperature of the water (t₁) = ___°C = ___ K 

Temperature of the solid in boiling water (t₂) = ___°C = ___ K 

Temperature of the mixture (t₃) = ___°C =___K 

Specific heat capacity of material of calorimeter s₁ = ___ Jkg–1 °C–1 (J kg–1 K–1) 

Specific heat capacity of water (s) = ___ Jkg–1 K–1 

 

   Calculations

Mass of the water in calorimeter (m₂ – m₁) = ___ g = ___ kg 

Change in temperature of water and calorimeter (t₁ – t₁) = ___ °C 

Change in temperature of solid (t₂ – t₃) = ___ °C 

Heat lost by solid in cooling from t2 to t3 = Heat gained by water in raising its temperature from t₁ to t₃ + heat gained by calorimeter in raising its temperature from t₁ to t₃

m₃s₀(t₂−t₃)=  (m₂−m₁) s (t₃−t₁)+  m₁s₁(t₃−t₁)
s= (m₂−m₁) s (t₃−t₁) +  m₁s₁(t₃−t₁) m₃(t₂−t₃)

= ____ Jkg–1 K–1 

 

(ii) Specific heat of liquid 

    Materials Required

Copper calorimeter with lid, stirrer and insulating cover, two thermometers (0 °C to 100 °C or 110 °C with a least count of 0.5 °C), a 250ml beaker, a given liquid, water, a metallic solid cylinder that is insoluble in given liquid and water, weighing machine, a piece of strong nonflexible thread (25-30 cm long), laboratory stand, a bunsen burner, tripod stand and wire gauze.

 

 The Procedure

 Real Lab Procedure

• Set the weighing machine and make sure there is no zero error. 
• Take a clean and dry empty calorimeter.  
• Weigh the calorimeter with the stirrer and lid. Note this as mass m₁ of the calorimeter. 
• Pour an adequate amount of the given liquid into the calorimeter to completely submerge the solid in it.  
• Weigh the calorimeter with liquid along with the stirrer and the lid and note its mass m₂. Place the calorimeter in its insulating cover. 
• Measure the temperature of the water in the calorimeter using a thermometer. Wait till the reading in the thermometer becomes stable. Note this as t₁. 
• Remove the thermometer and keep it aside. 
• Take another thermometer and hang it from the laboratory stand. 
• Take a solid metallic cylinder with known specific heat capacity.  
• Weigh the given solid using a weighing machine and note down its mass m₃. 
• Take a 250ml beaker. Fill half of it with water and place it on the wire gauze kept on a tripod stand.  
• Tie one end of a strong non-flexible thread tightly to the middle of the solid. Make sure that the given solid can be lifted by holding the thread without slipping.  
• Suspend the solid in the beaker containing water by tying the other end of the thread to a laboratory stand. Confirm the solid remains completely submerged in water and at least 0.5cm below the surface.  
• This step is important to ensure that the metal attains the same temperature as the water.   
• Now, boil the water with the solid suspended in it for about 5-10 minutes. Measure the temperature t₂ of the water with the other thermometer. 
• Remove the solid from boiling water by holding the thread tied to it. Shake to remove any water sticking on its surface and quickly put it in the liquid in the calorimeter. Replace the lid immediately. Be careful to minimise the time sample spends in contact with air.  
• Stir the liquid with the stirrer. Measure the final temperature of the mixture once it becomes constant on attaining equilibrium. Record this temperature as t₃. 

 

Simulation Procedure

• Click on the drop down menu to choose between specific heat of solid and specific heat of liquid. 
• From the drop down menu select the material of calorimeter.
• Slide the range to select mass of calorimeter (m₁).
• Slide the range to select mass of water (m₂).
• Slide the range to select the temperature of the liquid (t₁). In general, you may take water to be at room temperature of 25°C.
• Drag and drop calorimeter along with the stirrer on to the weighting machine to measure weight as m₁.
• Drag a 250 ml beaker with water and pour it into the calorimeter kept on the weighing machine to measure the weight as (m₁ + m₂).
• Drop the calorimeter back into the insulating box. 
• Drag a thermometer towards the calorimeter inside the insulating box and measure the temperature of water in calorimeter as t₁. 
• From the drop down menu select the Material of solid. 
• Slide the range to select Mass of solid (m₃).
• Slide the range to select the Temperature up to which the solid has to be heated (t₂).
• Drag and drop the solid onto the weighting machine and measure its weight.  
• Drag the solid towards the thread to tie it.
• Drag the solid towards the laboratory stand such that it is suspended into the beaker containing water.
• Drag another thermometer and hang it from the laboratory stand.
• Click on the Bunsen burner to boil the water with the solid suspended in it.
• Click on the calorimeter to open it.
• Drag and drop the solid into the calorimeter immediately when the thermometer reads t₂. 
• Click on the calorimeter to close it.
• Click on the stirrer to stir the contents in calorimeter.
• Note the final temperature of the mixture t₃. 
• From the values obtained calculate the specific heat capacity of solid. Remember to use the same units.
• Click on the result button to view the experimental result.
• Click on the fetch button to view the values obtained from the experiment.
• Click on the result button to view the final experimental result.
• Click on reset button to redo the experiment.

 

Observation

Mass of the empty calorimeter with stirrer (m₁) = ___ g 

Mass of the calorimeter with liquid (m₂) = ___ g 

Mass of solid (m₃) = ___ g 

Initial temperature of the liquid (t₁) = ___°C = ___ K 

Temperature of the solid in boiling water (t₂) = ___°C = ___ K 

Temperature of the mixture (t₃) = ___°C =___K 

Specific heat capacity of material of calorimeter s₁ = ___ Jkg–1 °C–1 (Jkg–1 K–1) 

Specific heat capacity of solid (s₀) = ___ Jkg–1 K–1 

 

Calculations

Mass of the liquid in calorimeter (m₂ – m₁) = ___ g = ___ kg 

Change in temperature of liquid and calorimeter (t₃ – t₁) = ___ °C 

Change in temperature of solid (t₂ – t₃) = ___ °C 

Heat given by solid in cooling from t₂ to t₃ = Heat gained by the liquid in raising its temperature from t1 to t3+ heat gained by calorimeter in raising its temperature from t1 to t3,

m₃s₀(t₂−t3) =  (m₂−m₁) s (t₃−t₁)+  m₁s₁(t₃−t₁),

s= m₃s₀ (t₂−t₃ ) − m₁s₁(t₃−t₁)(m₂−m₁)(t₃−t₁)

= ____ Jkg–1 K–1 

 

Result

(a) The specific heat of the given solid is _____ Jkg–1 K–1 within experimental error. 

(b) The specific heat of the given liquid is _____ Jkg–1 K–1 within experimental error. 

 

Precaution

• The solid used should not be chemically reactive with the liquid used or water. 
• The calorimeter should always be kept in its insulated cover and at a sufficient distance from the source of heat or sunlight so that it absorbs no heat from the surrounding. 
• Transfer the solid quickly so that there is no heat loss while transferring the solid, from boiling water to the liquid kept in the calorimeter.