Name: Ryan Villani Date: 04/10/2020

Student Exploration: Calorimetry Lab

Vocabulary: calorie, calorimeter, joule, specific heat capacity

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. The Latin word calor means “heat,” and meter comes from the Greek word meaning “to

measure.” What do you think a calorimeter does? Measures heat.

2. Where have you heard the word calorie before? What do you think a calorie is? With food,

the amount of energy it takes to heat up one ml of water.

Gizmo Warm-up

A calorimeter is an insulated container filled with a liquid,

usually water. When a hot object is placed in the calorimeter,

heat energy is transferred from the object to the water and the

water heats up.

Calorimeters can be used to find a substance’s specific heat

capacity. You will use the Calorimetry Lab Gizmo™ to

determine the specific heat capacities of various substances.

1. On the SIMULATION pane, select Copper. Use the slider to set its Mass to 200 g. Set the

Water mass to 200 g. Check that the Water temp is set to 30.0 °C and the copper’s Temp

is 90 °C. Select the GRAPH tab, and click Play ( ).

A. What was the Final temperature of the copper and the water? 34.96C

B. How much did the temperature of the copper change? 55.04C

C. How much did the temperature of the water change? 4.96C

2. Specific heat capacity can be described as a substance’s resistance to temperature

changes. Which substance has a greater specific heat capacity, copper or water? Explain.

Water, the temperature of the water changed the least amount, therefore its resistance is

greater.

Activity A:

Heat transfer

Get the Gizmo ready:

● Click Reset ( ).

Question: What factors determine how heat energy transfers between objects?

1. Predict: In the Gizmo warm-up, you saw how 200 g of 90 °C copper transfers heat to 200 g

of 30.0 °C water.

A. How do you think increasing the water’s mass would affect the final temperature?

It would decrease the final temperature

B. How do you think decreasing the copper’s mass would affect the final temperature?

It would also decrease the final temperature.

C. How do you think increasing or decreasing the copper’s initial temperature would

affect the final temperature? Increasing it would increase the final temperature, and

decreasing it would decrease the final temperature.

2. Collect data: Use the Gizmo to determine the final temperature for each set-up listed below.

Record your results in the tables. In the first table, you experiment with changing the water’s

mass. In the second table, you change the copper’s mass. In the third table, you change the

initial temperature of the copper. The first row of each table has been completed for you.

Copper Water Final Temp.

(°C) Initial Temp. (°C) Mass (g) Initial Temp. (°C) Mass (g)

3.

90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 34.96 °C

90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 2,000 g 30.54C

4.

90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 34.96 °C

90 °C 20 g 30.0 °C 200 g 30.54C

5.

90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 34.96 °C

100 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 35.79C

50 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 31.65C

3. Analyze: For each factor listed in the chart below, explain how the final temperature was

changed and why you think that change occurred.

A. What was the effect of increasing the water’s mass? It decreased thefinal

temperature, because there was more to warm up.

B. What was the effect of decreasing the copper’s mass? It decreased the final

temperature, the copper was warming up the water past 30C and when youtake

more of that warmth out, the water won’t heat up as much.

C. What was the effect of changing the initial temperature of the copper? The higher the

initial temperature of copper, the higher the final temperature.