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Investigating the Effect of Time and Light Intensity of Light Being

Shone by a Constant Voltage Light Bulb on 100g of Water and the
Efficiency of Energy Transfer
RQ: To what extent does the duration of light exposure affect the energy output of a
constant voltage light bulb on 100g of water and what is the light intensity transfer?

Introduction
When left in the sunshine a cup of water tends to evaporate at varying rates depending
how strong the intensity of the light energy is, and external factors such as temperature and
surface area, this was repeated several times at 12 pm very several variations of times each
inputting a variation in remaining volumes of water. However, this method lacked consistency as
the light intensity wasn’t going to remain consistent from the sun. Leading to the decision to
utilise a lamp which could emulate the sun on this lamp.
Water tends to heat when under intense light waves, which in turn would lead to the
evaporation of the water due to the particles being energised (“Wave Behaviors - NASA
Science”), and with the increase in the intensity of the light waves there will be a further increase
in the amount of energy which is received by the receiver. This is seen in equation 3 where
there’s a correlation between energy and intensity.

(1)

(2)

(3)
The evident proportional relationship shows that there’s a clear correlation between the
energy and intensity. This experiment will further turn this theoretical exploration into a realistic
approach in the search of proving the proprotionality between both intensity and energy within. It
will further go into depth of how much energy is being transferred into the water to additionally
it will give the efficiency of the lamp on the beaker.
Light exposure affects the temperature of certain items. Some objects reflect the light
waves and others will absorb the light waves and emit energy. This happens to be in ‘black
objects’ as they tend to have an emissivity of one according to Acktar Black Coatings, meaning
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that they are perfect emitters of energy. To clarify, emissivity is defined as ‘the ratio of the energy
radiated from a material's surface to that radiated from a perfect emitter’ (National Physics
Laboratory).
The experiment will be set up in a manner that will be done to explore the manner of
energy transfer from a light source to the water, trying to assimilate a solar panel. Solar panels
tend to absorb waves on their coat surfaces with an emissivity of 0.85 (Acktar Black Coatings),
meaning that they are near perfect emitters of energy with the ability to absorb it partially.
Similarly, the surface of large bodies of water tend to have an emissivity of 0.9 (Brewster)
meaning that it’ll act similarly to the solar panel, but will lack the conductivity that water has in
comparison to that of a solar panel.
To finalise the investigation, the emissivity of the beaker of water would match the ones
in other experiments to find if results are reliable, and in addition, there will be a measurement of
the temperature which will then be converted into energy and finalised by finding the intensity of
the light bulb which affects the water.

Background Information
There are several conversions of the energy within the transfer of light energy that is lost
along the way before it can heat something. The law of conservation of energy is important as it
states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. This conversion of light energy to thermal
energy follows a thorough process. Light commonly comes with a radiation of energy present
which in theory would affect the energy output of the lamp onto the water which could be
measured through the change in temperature. This energy change is due to absorption when
“photons from incident light hit atoms and molecules and cause them to vibrate'' (NASA).
The primary cause for the heating of anything from a light source or wall is due to the
fact that “radiation resonates well with molecules in the material, thereby setting them into
motion” (ESA) in addition this is due to the energy transfer that causes the temperature of the
substance to rise. This is a similar process to lamps which would emit wavelengths of light that
would be able to heat water, however not on the same wavelength as the lamp meaning that the
rate at which it heats up would be less due to a lower rate of particle transfer.
In addition, the choice of black was primarily due to the absorption of light and heat
energy that the colour black can maintain. According to several sources, “A black object absorbs
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all wavelengths of light and converts them into heat, so the object gets warm.” (Scientific
American) This absorption of heat energy will be able to pass through onto the water which rests
upon the plate through convection. The surface of the water will be able to act as a heating plate
which helps with the procedure of boiling the water.
Furthermore, the amount of time will typically be impactful due to the factor of power
being kept at a constant rate but time being an increasing factor. With the increase of time, there
will also be a theoretical and experimental increase in the amount of energy in equation 4 that is
provided to the water. This means that a comparison of the energy within the water and the
energy in the lamp would be able to generate a comparison to also analyse the efficiency of the
energy transfer.

(4)
Energy can also be calculated through the use of the constant mass of 100g, the specific
heat capacity of water (4200 J kg-1 °C-1), and the change of temperature which will be found
within the last equation. This is going to be utilised to calculate the energy within the water
rather than the lamp as seen in Equation 4.
The halo of the lamp is important in the calculation, but first to understand the halo is
measured in a dark room and is a ring visible from a light bulb which represents something
likewise to that of an angel's ring. It is vital in the calculation of the intensity as the area will be
provided through this formula.

Hypothesis
The intensity will have an impact on the energy output of the water, as the support of
efficiency of water tends to be higher when the temperature ranges from 0-30°C according to
ScienceofDoom. This is due to the high emissivity of water as it would enable the temperature of
the water to increase slightly with a part of the energy being absorbed and the rest being emitted.

(5)
Methodology
Materials
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Apparatus Features Quantity Uncertainty

Beaker 100 mL 3 ± 5%

Lamp E27 3 -

Distilled Water 2000 mL -

Bulb 25 W / 240 V 3 -

Black Plate 3 -

Weighing Scale 1 ±0.005 g

Stopwatch 3 ±0.2 s

Thermometer 3 ±0.05°C

Variables

Independent Variable Time (in seconds ±0.2s) The amount of time that the
water is left under the light
will further increase the
theoretical value of the
energy provided to the water.

Dependent Variable Energy Output (in Joules) The energy will be measured
by using mc𝚫T, and the
measure of the temperature
will be the factor that changes
the energy output.
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Controlled Variable Power Output of Bulb The bulb would be able to

produce a constant power
output of 25W when
connected to a power source
of greater power.

External Temperature The room is being maintained

around the average room
temperature so that it
wouldn’t impact the results
that are produced.

Volume of water The starting amount of water

will be maintained at 100 g in
order to make a fair
measurement of the energy
for each product as mass is a
crucial part of the results.

Voltage The lamps will maintain a

constant voltage no matter the
situation as there will be a
consistent current coming
through the lamp unless the
circuit were to break.

Process
1. Distribute 100g of water into three different beakers
2. Measure the initial temperature of the beakers containing water
3. Set up a lamp above the beakers
a. Install 25 W bulbs into the E27 lamps
b. Measure the halo of the lamps
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c. Put the lamps above the beaker

4. Leave it there for 5 minutes
5. Measure the temperature after the time has lapsed
6. Calculate the energy utilising the energy equation in Equation 5
7. Repeat steps 1-6 for the following variations
a. 10 minutes
b. 15 minutes
c. 20 minutes
d. 25 minutes
8. Formulate the data into a table

The setup is highlighted in Diagram 1 to highlight how the procedure will be carried out
with efficiency and to provide a proper idea of how it’s supposed to set up.

Diagram 1: Lab Setup

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Results
Raw Data
Table 1: Raw Data

Time (in m) Trial Weight Initial Final

(±0.001kg) Temperature Temperature
(±0.05°C) (±-0.05°C)

1 0.174 24.33 25.13

2 0.167 24.54 24.90

5

3 0.170 24.45 25.01

1 0.171 24.67 25.84

2 0.166 24.53 25.75

10

3 0.168 24.43 25.54

1 0.171 24.24 25.82

2 0.166 24.35 25.93

15

3 168 24.53 26.08

1 167 24.21 25.96

2 162 24.13 26.04

20

3 164 24.65 26.17

1 164 24.63 26.82

2 160 24.46 26.74

25

3 161 24.58 26.86

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The data will then be averaged before any more calculations are carried out, then will be
converted into the amount of energy produced to produce an average. This energy obtained from
the average is then converted into intensity.

Uncertainties
The general formula for the uncertainty of the energy is expressed as the formula below:

(6)

Uncertainty of Energy Output

Δm = ±1g
ΔT = ±0.05 °C
Q = Average Energy Per Variation

These variables, fixed uncertainties, and general formula are important as they will be used to
calculate the absolute uncertainty of the Energy Output into the water.

For example, the use of this formula would be on the 5-minute variation.

5 Minutes (300 seconds)

m = 0.173 kg
T = 25

ΔQ = ±.034 J
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Data Analysis (Processed Data)

Energy Produced in each variation (in Joules)

Trials 5 10 15 20 25

1 0.5793 0.8590 1.131 1.328 1.784

2 0.2796 0.8339 1.091 1.492 1.808

3 0.4245 0.7736 1.042 1.442 1.954

Average 0.428 0.822 1.089 1.421 1.849

Table 2: Calculated Energy Produced (in J)

Intensity Acting upon 100g of Water

I - intensity (Wm=2)
E - energy (J)
t - time (in seconds)
A - surface area of surface of water (m2)

This formula can be used for both the intensity of the light bulb and the intensity on the surface
of water

The intensity is then represented in the table below which allows for a comparative point
to be generated by calculating the intensity of the lamp to the intensity of the bulb, and further
finding the efficiency of the lamp by comparing the two sets of results at different periods.

Variations in Time (min)

5 10 15 20 25

Light 16.6 66.3 136.7 232.0 373.0

Intensity
(KWm-2)
Table 3: Light Intensity per Each Variation
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Graph 1: Intensity per each Time Variation

Power Efficiency of the Light Bulb

To calculate the efficiency of the light bulb it must utilise the power output and input to
generate the efficiency in the form of a percentage. This is done by:

We then substitute our value of 1.15 as Poutput and 25 as Pinput

This provides the general efficiency of the experiment and generates a question as to what
went wrong.

Discussion
The intensity of light increases with time therefore proving a relationship with the
evidence being thorough throughout the examination. This study creates a valid output of data as
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the intensity increases at an exponential rate along with the transfer of power to the water when
there’s water being shunned on the beaker, as seen by the continuous flow of points in an
upwards curve in Graph 1, rather than a linear graph. This also displays a proportional
relationship present for the intensity and the power as the factors such as surface area and the
halo of the light remain at a constant meaning that they won’t affect.
The gradient of the graph (line of best fit), in Graph 1 is meant to represent a ‘linear’
relationship between intensity and time, and as time had progressed there was a very clear
relationship between the
The R2 factor of 0.961 displays an accuracy in the output of the results, meaning that
there is reliability in the results that are put on display on the graph and that there’s a consistent
pattern within the intensity vs time pattern. The methodology used is effective and works hand in
hand with the discovery of the final results. In addition towards the 20 and 25-minute mark, the
rate increases at a major rate giving proof of an exponential rate within Graph 1.

Evaluation
Strengths
The methodology exerts some strengths including the efficiency at which the experiment
was to be carried out, for instance, the investigation is carried out quicker when three trials are
concluded at once. Another additional strength would be the measurements of the water present
within the experiment, the consistency across the three beakers which had a varying mass when
kept independently was kept at a constant to ensure that there was little to no change in the
results.

Weaknesses

Limitations Issue Improvements

Energy Loss Heat is radiated in the process Wrapping the beaker in a

of heating the beaker as it black body or a poor
needs to release energy if it conductor so that the energy
were to evaporate. can be maintained within the
beaker.

The lamp is at a distance from Moving the lamp and

the beaker meaning that the reducing the size of the halo
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halo is larger and less focused will lead to reduced energy

on the lamp. loss and the intensity will be
more focused on a certain
area

Timing The timing is uneven with all Start one at a time

three experiments meant to be simultaneously meaning that
started at once, there being a it would be carried out with
time lag between the lamp efficiency and reduce error
and the timer starting present in the timing

The Gray Plate It wouldn’t be as good at
conducting the heat due to the
factor of it having a lower
emissivity than a black plate
Replace the grey plate with a
black plate to improve the
object heating, that’ll in term
lead to improved consistency
in results.

Conclusion
To link back to the task at hand, the topic which was trying to be solved was
“Investigating the Effect of Time and Light Intensity of Light Being Shone by a Constant
Voltage Light Bulb on 100g of Water and the Efficiency of Energy Transfer”, and its asked if the
results were able to find a clear effect of time on the light intensity on the water. A clear link of
this is present within the final results as the time duration of the lamp increases alongside the
intensity received in addition to the energy of the lamp increasing displaying an evident linkage
between all three. This is displayed in Tables 2 and 3 where the data is conveying this point
making it much clearer than it is. Furthermore, the relationship between light intensity and water
is very clear when it comes to water heaters as with a stronger light intensity the water will tend
to heat up more and at a faster rate as there’s an evident increase in temperature.

Extension
If this experiment were to be run again, a further investigation into this would be to
correlate the varying materials with a wide range of emissivity to recreate a correlation between
the surface and heating alongside temperature. As with ranging emissivity the power output of
the body will also change along with the emissivity, only if factors such as the area and
temperature are kept constant.
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