Name __Nicolas_Benedeti___________

Investigating SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/energy-forms-and-changes/latest/energy-forms-and-
changes_en.html

Part 1
Your task is to determine the relative specific heat capacities of four materials: brick, iron, olive oil and
water.

We’re not looking to actually calculate the specific heat capacity; we’re just trying to place the objects in
the correct order, from lowest to highest values of c. (Please don’t cheat by looking up these values
somewhere. Play fair!) You will be using a series of comparisons to determine their final order. Assume all
materials have the same mass.

Before you begin, read through the directions and create a suitable data table to record your results.

1. Click the “Intro” icon to start the simulation.

2. Click the “Link Heaters” box in the top-right part of the screen. This will ensure the two heaters give out
the same amount of energy per second.
3. Place two different materials on the stands by clicking and dragging them there.
4. Click and drag a thermometer from the top-left corner of the screen onto each material. The
thermometer is correctly placed when the left-facing triangle turns the same color as the material.
5. Click and hold one of the heater temperature controls, then drag it up towards “Heat” and hold it there.
You should see the temperature change. When you let go of the heater slider, the materials will slowly
cool down; if you need to heat them up again, just click, drag and hold the slider back up again.
6. When you’re done, click the orange Reset button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. You will have
to re-check “Link Heaters” and add new thermometers to each object.
6. Go through all the possible combinations of materials, compare results, and rank them from lowest to
highest value of c.

Data table:
Draw a data table below to record all your observations.
Final ranking:

_____Iron_______ ___Brick________ ____Olive Oil___ ____Water_______

lowest c value highest c value

PART 2
To be able to:
Describe how heat flow from hot to cold.
Explain that some materials hold and release more energy than others (specific heat)

When in doubt, add a thermometer!

1. Is it possible to boil the water? Is it possible to freeze the water? (Make sure to attach the
temperature gauge so you have a guide.) What do you need to do to make these changes?
Yes, its possible to boil the water by heating it up a lot, and it is possible to dreezy by lowering the
heat a lot.

2. Chill the water as much as possible- then add heat and observe. List below at least three things you
noticed (Make sure the energy symbols box is checked.)
Energy is flowing from the heater into the water. When water heats up it begins to steam. When it
begins to steam, it releases energy through steam.

3. Add heat to the Iron and heat to the brick at the same time. Which one can hold more energy?
How/where do they lose their energy?

Iron can hold more energy. They lose energy when they get hot or cold.

4. Add a heated up bit of iron to room temperature water. Describe in detail what happens below.

The energy from the block of iron created by heating it moves into the water. Some energy goes up
into the air as well.
 5. Place the brick on top of the iron and add heat. Describe what is happening in at least three
sentences.

Energy moves from the heater into the block of iron. When the iron gets filled with energy (heat), it
moves into the brick. When the brick gets filled, the energy (heat) goes up into the air.

6. Take the same set up from #5, an instead of heating it up, cool it down. Describe what is happening
in at least three sentences.

Energy (heat) moves from iron into the bucket of ice. Eventually energy from the brick starts to go
into the iron. Then that energy continues to go down into the ice.

7. Once the brick and the iron are cooled down, do they have the same thermal energy? Do they have
the same temperature? Does the room temperature water have more or less thermal energy?

Once they both cooled down, the iron has more thermal energy. They have the same temperature.
Room temperature has more thermal energy than both since it is warmer.

Conclusions:
1. In your own words, define heat.

Heat is the thermal energy transferred between objects with varying temperatures.

2. In your own words, define temperature.

The measure of heat that an object has at a given moment.

3. What material can hold the most heat? Which take the longest to cool down? (Is it the same order?
 Water can hold the most heat, and it takes the longest to cool. Yes, the order is the same for the
other objects.

4. In your experience in what direction does heat exchange occur. What evidence did you experience
to justify that answer?

Heat moves from a source of heat (the bucket in this example) and moves into an object. When the
object gets filled with heat the heat escapes it.