Name: Date:

Student Exploration: Calorimetry Lab

Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.

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?

Measure the amount of heat in an object/substance/compound,etc.

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

I’ve heard it In Foods and I think that a calorie is Energy that food has.

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? 34.96°C

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

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

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.

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 Water has a Greater Specific Heat capacity because it has Greater Resistance
when changing temperature. It’s temperature only changed by a Bit compared
to Copper.

Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:

Heat transfer ● 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?

I think that increasing the water’s mass will make the final temperature
lower

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

I think that decreasing the copper’s mass will make the final temperature
lower

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

I think that increasing the initial temperature will cause the final temperature of
the copper to be high

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.

Initial Temp. (°C) Mass (g) Initial Temp. (°C) Mass (g) (°C)
3.

90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 34.96 °C

90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 2,000 g 30.54 °C
4.

90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 34.96 °C

90 °C 20 g 30.0 °C 200 g 30.54 °C
5.

90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 34.96 °C

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 100 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 35.79 °C
50 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 31.65 °C

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?

The Final Temperature Decreased/Was lower, and The water had a high
capacity

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

The Final Temperature Decreased/Was lower, which means that there is

less heat energy

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

When Increased, the Final Temperature Also Increased.

4. Draw conclusions: The amount that the water’s temperature increases depends on the mass of the water
and the amount of heat energy in the copper.

A. How does changing the initial mass of the copper affect how much heat energy it has?

If there is more copper, there will also be more heat Energy and Vice
versa.

B. How does changing the initial temperature of the copper affect how much heat energy it has?

If the Initial Temperature Is Increased, the copper will have more heat
energy and vice versa

5. Apply: Many gyms and health clubs have steam saunas, which are small steam-filled rooms. Traditionally,
steam saunas have a container of heated rocks. A small ladle of water is poured on the rocks in order to
make the steam.

A. Use what you have learned so far about heat transfer to explain how hot rocks can be used to make
steam?

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 Because the rocks have high heat energy, This heat is then transferred to the
water which will make the water heat up and turn into Steam

B. Why do you think only a small ladle-full of water is poured on the rocks at one time?

I think because if too much water is poured at a time, it will cool the rocks down,
which means that they won’t be able to continuously provide steam.

Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity B:
● Click Reset.
Specific heat
● Deselect Copper, and select Granite.

Question: How can you compare the specific heat capacities of various substances?

1. Explain: How do you think you can use the calorimeter to compare the specific heat capacities of the

substances listed on the Gizmo?

The calorimeter can tell us changes in the temperature of the water. I think the
initial and final temperature can then be compared to tell us the specific heat
energies.

2. Predict: Which substance do you think will have the highest specific heat capacity? Why?

Granite because I think that it takes longer for it to heat up which means that i
think that it is more resistant to a temperature change.

3. Experiment: Use the Gizmo to determine the final temperature for each set-up listed below. Record your
results in the table. The first row has been completed for you.

Substance Substance Water initial Water Final

Substance
initial temp. (°C) mass temp. (°C) mass temp. (°C)
Copper 90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 34.96 °C
Granite 90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 39.59 °C
Lead 90 °C 200 g 30.0 °C 200 g 31.75 °C

4. Analyze: Of the three substances, which caused the largest temperature change in the water? What does
this indicate about its relative specific heat capacity?

Granite had the largest temperature change in the water. This tells us that it has
a high specific heat capacity.

5. Interpret: Remember that specific heat capacity is a measure of a substance’s resistance to temperature
change. The more resistant a substance is to temperature change, the higher is its specific heat capacity.

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 Rank the three substances in order of their specific heat capacities, from highest to lowest.

Granite, Copper then Lead

6. Predict: How do you think the specific heat capacity of ice will compare to that of copper, granite, and lead?

I think that Ice will have a higher specific heat

7. Experiment: Deselect Lead, and select Ice. Use the default values for Temp (-30 °C) and Mass (50 g). Set
the Water temp to 60 °C and the Water mass to 200 g. Click Play.

A. What was the final temperature?

28.83°C

B. What do you think is happening when the ice line on the graph is at 0 °C for a long period of time?
Why do you think the line disappears after that?

The line disappeared because the ice was melting which means that it
was turning into a solid into a liquid.

C. How much of a temperature change did the water experience?

Decreased by 31.17 Degrees Celsius

D. How does this change in the water’s temperature compare to the change caused by the other
substances you tested?

There was a much greater change in temperature.

8. Extend your thinking: A lot of energy is needed to heat a substance with a high specific heat capacity.
However, even more energy is needed to cause a phase change (such as the melting of ice). Click Reset.
Set the ice’s Temp to -100 °C and its Mass to 50 g. Set the Water temp to 50 °C and Water mass to 200
g. Click Play.

A. What was the final temperature? 13.39°C

B. Do you think all the ice melted? Explain.

Yes, the Ice Cube disappeared from the calorimeter and the Line on the graph
for Ice also Disappeared.
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 C. Look at the GRAPH. The graph shows two separate stages: the heating of the ice and then the
melting of the ice. How much did the water’s temperature change while the ice was heating? How
much did it change while the ice was melting?

When the ice was heating, the temperature changed by about 12°C and when It
was melting it changed by about 20°C

D. How did this experiment demonstrate ice’s high specific heat capacity?

It showed how Ice causes a greater change in temperature in water

than Granite, Copper and Lead.

Activity C:
Get the Gizmo ready:
Calculating
● Click Reset.
specific heat

Introduction: The specific heat capacity of a substance is the amount of energy needed to change the
temperature of that substance by 1 °C. Specific heat capacity can be calculated using the following equation:
q = mc∆T

In the equation q represents the amount of heat energy gained or lost (in joules), m is the mass of the
substance (in grams), c is the specific heat capacity of the substance (in J/g °C), and ∆T is the temperature
change of the substance (in °C).

Goal: Calculate the specific heat capacities of copper, granite, lead, and ice.

1. Solve: When you mix two substances, the heat gained by one substance is equal to the heat lost by the
other substance. Suppose you place 125 g of aluminum in a calorimeter with 1,000 g of water. The water
changes temperature by 2 °C and the aluminum changes temperature by –74.95 °C.

A. Water has a known specific heat capacity of 4.184 J/g °C. Use the specific heat equation to find out
how much heat energy the water gained (q).

1000 G X 4.184 X 2 = 8,368 J

B. Assume that the heat energy gained by the water is equal to the heat energy lost by the aluminum.
Use the specific heat equation to solve for the specific heat of aluminum. (Hint: Because heat
energy is lost, the value of q is negative.)

8,368 / (125 X 74.95) = 0.893 J/G°C.

Aluminum’s accepted specific heat value is 0.900 J/g °C. Use this value to check your work.

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2. Calculate: Use the Gizmo to mix 200 g of copper at 100 °C with 1,000 g of water at 20 °C.

A. What is the final temperature? 21.42 °C

B. Calculate the temperature change of each substance by subtracting the initial temperature from
the final temperature.

∆Twater: 1.42 °C ∆Tcopper: -78.58 °C

C. How much heat energy (q) did the water gain? 5,941.28 J

D. Now solve for the specific heat (c) of copper: 0.378 J/G°C

3. Calculate: Use the Gizmo to mix 200 g of granite at 100 °C with 1,000 g of water at 20 °C.

A. What is the final temperature?

22.93 °C.

B. Calculate the temperature change of each substance by subtracting the initial temperature from the
final temperature.

∆Twater: 2.93 °C. ∆Tgranite: -77.07

C. How much heat energy (q) did the water gain? 12,259.12 J

D. Now solve for the specific heat (c) of granite: 0.795 → 0.8 J/G °C.

E. Repeat steps A through D to find the specific heat (c) of lead: Final Temp = 20.48
∆Twater= 0.48
200 Grams of Lead @ 100 °C
1000 Grams of Water @ 20 °C ∆TLead= -79.52

q of Water = 2,008.32
c of Lead = -0.126

4. Challenge: Use the specific heat capacity that you calculated for granite to determine how many grams of
granite at the initial temperature of 80 °C must mix with 3,000 g of water at the initial temperature of 20 °C
to result in a final system temperature of 20.45 °C. (Hint: Start by calculating how much heat energy is

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 needed to change the water’s temperature by 0.45 °C). Show your work. Use the Gizmo to check your
answer.

Specific Heat Calculated = 0.795 J/G°C

M Grams of Granite @ 80°C

3,000 Grams of Water @ 20°C

80-20.45 = 59.55 So change in temperature for Granite = -59.55

20.45 - 20 = .45 So change in temperature for Water = 0.45

m X 0.79 X 59.55 = 47.0445

3000 X 4.184 X 0.45 = 5,648.4

47.0445 = 5,648.4 5,648.4 Divided By 47.0445 = 120.06

47.0445 47.0445
M = 120.06

Mass of granite = 120.06

Grams

5. Extend your thinking: In addition to calculating specific heat capacities, some calorimeters can be used to
determine how much energy is in food. The energy in food is usually expressed in calories or kilocalories
(Calories). A calorie is the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of 1 g of water by 1 C.
There are 1,000 calories in a Calorie.

A. How many joules are in 1 calorie? (The specific heat of water is 4.184 J/g °C.)

1 X 4.184 = 4.184 J

B. Suppose a snack bar is burned in a calorimeter and heats 2,000 g water by 20 °C. How much heat
energy was released? (Hint: Use the specific heat equation.) Give your answer in both joules and
calories.

1 Cal X 2000 G X 20 °C = 40,000 Calories

40,000 X 4.184 = 167,360 Joules

C. How many kilocalories (Calories) does the snack bar contain?

(1 / 1,000) x 40,000 = 40 Calories or Kcal

Gizmo Assessment: ______/5

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