FC312E
PHYSICS
Theme: 7 Hour: 2 Thermal Physics
Module Learning Outcome
Use specific heat capacity and latent heat
to find thermal properties of substances
Apply in real-world contexts
Academic Literacy
Use theoretical concepts to analyse real-
world practices. 
Develop ability to read, comprehend and
express mathematical arguments
Use subject-specific vocabulary effectively.
HEAT ENERGY
 Outline (Hour 2)
• Heat

• Joules, calories

• Heat capacity, specific

• Conservation of energy – calorimetry

• Latent heat of fusion, vaporisation, sublimation

• Phase changes and energy conservation

Specific Heat and Phase Changes
 Heat and Mechanical Work
• Experimental work has shown
that heat is another form of
energy.
• James Joule (1818 - 1889)
developed a device to
measure the mechanical
equivalent of heat.
– In essence, he showed that
heat could produce
mechanical work, and vice
versa.
 Heat Energy
• Now we introduce the notion of heat energy that is an
energy that comes from the changing temperature of a
substance.
• In particular, if we increase the temperature of a substance
by then there must be some heat energy gain in the
material.
• This heat energy depends on the mass of the substance
you are heating and something called the specific heat
capacity, c.
• This is all understood through equation:
 
𝑸=𝒎𝒄 𝜟𝑻
 Heat Energy
Another unit of heat is the British thermal unit (Btu).
This is the energy required to heat 1 lb of water from
63°F to 64°F.

1 Btu = 0.252 kcal = 1055 J

– Also, in nutrition, one Calorie (C) is equivalent to 1

kilocalorie.
 Heat Energy: Example
A 74 kg person drinks a milkshake which
contains 305 kcal.
How many stairs, each of height 20 cm, must
this person climb in order to work off the
milkshake?
 Heat Energy: Example
Answer:

• Energy intake = heat, so the energy which the person has

taken onboard is 305000 calories.
• 305000 cal = 1.28 x 106 J.
• Energy = mechanical work:
so we say Q = mgh (work against gravity), so

h = Q/mg = 1.28 x 106/(74 x 8.98) = 1760 m

1760 m  8800 stairs!!!

 Specific Heat Capacity, c
• Any material has it’s own specific heat capacity c.
• You will always be told the value for a given substance -
it’s just a number. For example, for water it is:
•
• From the equation on the last slide we can write the
specfic heat capacity as:

We can thus interpret c as the amount of energy required to

heat a 1 kg mass by 1 K
Specific Heat Capacity, c
 Specific Heat Capacity, c
A calorimeter is a lightweight, insulated flask containing
water. When an object is put in, it and the water come to
thermal equilibrium. If the mass of the flask can be
ignored, and the insulation keeps any heat from
escaping:
1. The final temperatures of the object and the water will
be equal.
2. The total energy of the system is conserved.
◦ This allows us to calculate the specific heat of the
object.
 Specific Heat Capacity: Example

Suppose 550 g of water at 32°C is poured into a

210 g aluminium can with an initial temperature of
15°C.

Find the final temperature of the system, assuming no

heat is exchanged with the surroundings.
 Specific Heat Capacity: Example
Answer:
• Expressions for heat flow:
Qw = mwcw(T – Tw)
QA = mAcA(T – TA)

• Energy conservation: Qw+QA = 0

m Ac ATA  mwcwTw
• Solving for final temperature, T: T 
m A c A  mw c w
T = 31°C
 Changes of State
• When we are heating a substance and and creating
this heat energy: the energy is really going into
making the atoms ‘jiggle’ around more and more
(kinetic energy increase)
• We can also change the state of a substance:

• Melting (solid liquid)

• Freezing (liquidsolid)
• Evaporating (liquidgas)
• Condensing (gasliquid)
 Latent Heat
Instead of the energy going into the motion of atoms in
the substance, when we change state the energy goes
into:
Breaking the bonds between atoms
that give material its solid/liquid/gas structure.
 Latent Heat
• The energy required to break these bonds is related to the
mass of the substance and also a quantity called latent
heat,.
• We give two separate names for the latent heat value for:
• Vaporisation (liquid gas)
• Fusion ( liquid solid)
• The general equation for the energy required to change
the state of a substance is:

𝑸=𝒎 𝒍 𝑭 𝑸=𝒎 𝒍 𝑽
 Latent Heat
The latent heat of fusion is the heat needed to go from
solid to liquid; the latent heat of vaporization from liquid to
gas.
Phase Change
There are 5 energy
changes as a substance
goes from solid liquid
gas (i.e. from AF in
diagram):
Phase Changes & Energy Conservation

Solving problems involving phase changes is similar to

solving problems involving heat transfer, except that the
latent heat must be included as well.
 Phase Change: Example
Calculate the energy needed to melt of ice at and
heat the melted ice to . Use:
• latent heat of fusion of ice
• Heat capacity of water =
 Phase Change: Example
To melt the of ice we need an energy to change the
state equal to:

To heat the melted ice (water) from to the energy

needed is:

Therefore the total energy needed is: