Required Practical: Investigating Specific Heat Capacity Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

What are the steps of the required practical to determine the specific heat capacity of a metal block?
e.g. a 1 kg aluminium block

1. Measure the mass of the block; put an immersion heater and thermometer into it and wrap it in insulation
2. Switch on and record the temperature and the energy transferred (joulemeter, or $E = Pt$)
3. Calculate $c = \dfrac{\Delta E}{m\Delta\theta}$

In the specific heat capacity practical, why is the block wrapped in insulation?

To reduce energy transfer to the surroundings, which would otherwise make the calculated specific heat capacity too high.

In the specific heat capacity practical, how is the energy transferred to the heater found?

With a joulemeter, or by using $E = Pt$ (power of the heater × time).

In the specific heat capacity practical, why is the thermometer left in the block for a few minutes before the initial temperature is recorded?

So the thermometer is at the same temperature as the block.

Give the main source of error in the specific heat capacity practical.

Energy transferred to the surroundings rather than to the block, so not all the measured energy heats the block.

Why can a liquid-in-glass thermometer be misread in this practical, and how is it avoided?

Parallax error — read the scale at eye level, straight on.