Name Period Date

3. Investigating Specific Heat

Driving Questions
Have you ever wondered why it feels cooler on a hot summer day near a large body of water as
compared to inland, away from that water, or why it feels warmer next to the water late at
night?

 What does the specific heat of water versus land have to do with the differential heating and
cooling of water and sand?

 How different are water and sand in their rates of heating and cooling?

Background
The specific heat of a substance (also known as specific heat capacity) determines how quickly
the temperature of that material will rise or fall when it gains or loses heat energy. Specific heat
is an intrinsic property of a substance and is dependent on its molecular structure and phase.
The stronger the bonds (or intermolecular attractions) are, the higher the specific heat. The
higher the specific heat, the more energy is necessary to raise the temperature of a substance
and the more energy must be lost to decrease its temperature.

Liquid water has a type of intermolecular attraction (hydrogen bonding) that causes it to have a
high specific heat. The hydrogen bonds can absorb a large amount of energy before they break.
They keep water molecules from moving relative to each other, resulting in lower kinetic energy
for the water molecules, and thus lower heat loss.

Specific heat c refers to the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a
substance 1 degree Kelvin in the same phase. This is expressed in units of joules per gram-
degree Kelvin (J/g·K). Often, specific heat is expressed using the Celsius scale (J/g·°C). The
specific heat of water, 4.186 J/g·°C, is often represented as its own separate measure, the calorie.

Liquid water's specific heat is one of the highest of any substance. Therefore, liquid water
requires more heat energy to increase its temperature than almost any other substance.
Likewise, liquid water must lose more energy to decrease its temperature than almost any other
substance.

1
Investigating Specific Heat

Materials and Equipment

For each student or group:

 Stainless steel temperature sensors (2)  Small tripod base, and rod
 Fast-response temperature probes (2)  Buret clamp (2)
 Beaker, glass, 500-mL  Disposable insulated cup (2) and lid
 Test tube, glass, 18 x 150-mm (large)  Water, 650 mL
 Beakers (2), glass, 250-mL  Tongs
 Sand, 200 g  Stirring rod
 Heat lamp or 150 W incandescent lamp  Hot plate
 Mass balance or scale (1 per class)

Safety
Follow all standard laboratory procedures.

Procedure
After you complete a step (or answer a question), place a check mark in the box () next to that step.

Part 1 – Rates of heating and cooling of water versus sand

Set Up

1.  Start a new experiment on the data collection system.

2.  Connect two temperature probes to your device.

3.  Display Temperature on the y-axis of a graph with Time on the x-axis.

4.  Set up the graph display to show two sensors simultaneously.

5.  Put 200 g of sand into a 250-mL beaker.

6.  Put 200 g of water into another 250-mL beaker.

2 PS-2979
 Student Inquiry Worksheet

7.  Place a fast-response temperature probe in

each beaker as shown in the illustration.

Note: Each of the temperature sensors should be

approximately one inch below the surface.

8.  Place the heat lamp directly above the

Fast-response
beakers so that both beakers receive the temperature probes
same amount of energy from the lamp.

9.  Why is it important to heat both beakers

equally?

___________________________________________________________________________________________
Water
Sand

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Collect Data

10.  Start data recording.

11.  Adjust the scale of the graph to show all data.

12.  Record data for 30 seconds then turn on the light.

13.  Data collection will continue automatically for 5 more minutes. Do not stop recording
data!

14.  How much faster do you think the temperature of the sand will increase than that of the
water? How much faster will it decrease when the light is turned off? Give a specific rate
comparison (such as twice as fast or twice as slow).

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: While the data is recording for 5 minutes, you can begin setting up Part 2 of the procedure.

15.  Turn the light off.

16.  Continue recording data for 5 minutes.

17.  Stop recording data.

3
Investigating Specific Heat

18.  Name the data runs "Sand" and "Water".

19.  Save your experiment.

20.  Complete the steps in the Data Analysis section for Part 1.

Part 2 – Determine the specific heat of sand

Set Up

21.  How do you think the specific heat of sand will compare with the specific heat of water?
Give a rate comparison (such as twice as fast or twice as slow).

___________________________________________________________________________________________

22.  Fill the 500-mL beaker about 3/4 full with water.

23.  Place the beaker on the hot plate, and turn it on to the highest setting.

24.  Bring the water to a boil.

25.  Set up the tripod base and rod while you wait for the water to boil. Fasten a buret clamp
just above the beaker.

26.  Measure the mass of the test tube: .

27.  Fill the test tube half full with sand.

28.  Measure the mass of the sand and the test tube: .

29.  Calculate the mass of the sand alone and write the mass in Table 2 in the Data Analysis
section.

30.  Use the buret clamp to secure the test tube in the 500-mL beaker of boiling water. Make
sure the sand in the test tube is below the water level.

31.  Connect the two stainless steel temperature sensors to the data collection system.

32.  Place one of the stainless steel temperature sensors into the middle of the test tube. Do
not allow the sensor to touch the bottom or sides of the test tube.

33.  Support the sensor with the

second buret clamp.

4 PS-2979
 Student Inquiry Worksheet

34.  Before making the calorimeter (by nesting two disposable insulated cups), make sure the
lid has a hole in it that you can slide the stainless steel temperature sensor and stirring
rod through.

35.  Measure 70.0 g of room-temperature water.

36.  Place the two disposable insulated cups together, and add the water into the top cup.

37.  Use the other stainless steel temperature sensor to measure the temperature of the
water in the insulated cup.

38.  If necessary, open a graph display that shows Temperature on the y-axis and Time on
the x-axis, and set up the graph display to show two data runs simultaneously.

Collect Data

39.  Start recording data, and adjust the scale of the graph to show all data.

40.  Record data for 600 seconds, then stop recording data.

41.  Name the data run "Sand2".

42.  Record the temperature of the sand in Table 2 in the Data Analysis section (Tinitial).

43.  Turn the hot plate off.

44.  Use the same temperature sensor you used to measure the temperature of the water.
Insert the temperature sensor through the hole in the lid (the lid is not on the disposable
insulated cup yet).

45.  Insert the stirring rod through the same hole and put the lid on the cup, making sure the
thermometer is in contact with the water.

46.  Start recording data, and adjust the scale of the graph to show all data.

47.  Use tongs to remove the test tube and quickly pour the contents of the tube into the
water in the calorimeter.

48.  Immediately cover the disposable insulated cup with the lid, making sure the
temperature sensor doesn't touch the side or bottom of the cup. Stir the water and sand
mixture.

49.  Why did you pour the sand into the water?

Hint: The specific heat of water is a known constant: 4.186 J/g °C.

5
Investigating Specific Heat
___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

50.  Continue stirring the water and sand mixture.

51.  Record data until the temperature starts to level off, and then stop recording data. (This
will take about 1 minute.)

52.  Name the data run "Calorimeter".

53.  Save your experiment.

54.  How did the initial temperature of the water and sand added to the insulated cup
compare to the final temperature of the water-sand mixture? Where did the heat energy
of the sand go when you put it into the water?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

55.  What was the purpose of using an insulated cup and lid rather than simply using a
beaker?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

6 PS-2979
 Student Inquiry Worksheet

Data Analysis

Part 1 – Heating and cooling of water versus sand

1.  Sketch your two data runs, "sand" and "water," on the graph. Label both data runs, label
the axes with units and a scale, and indicate when the light was turned on and turned
off.

2.  Use the graph tools to determine the temperature data points specified in Table 1. �(9.1)

3.  Complete the calculations for Table 1.

Table 1: Rates of heating and cooling of water and sand

Tinitial Tmax,light on ∆Theating Rateheating Tfinal ∆Tcooling Ratecooling

(°C) (°C) (°C) (°C/s) (°C) (°C) (°C/s)

Wate
r

Sand

7
Investigating Specific Heat

Part 2 – Determine the Specific Heat of Sand

4.  Sketch the graph of the third data run of Temperature versus Time for the water-sand
mixture. Be sure to label the x-axis and y-axis regarding parameter and units of
measurement as well as the data runs.

5.  Find the initial and final temperatures of the data run and enter them in Table 2. (The
initial temperature of the sand should have been entered earlier).

6.  Complete the calculations for Table 2.

Hint: Determine the amount of heat gained by the water (Q) using the mass of the water (m), the
specific heat of the water (c), and the change in temperature of the water (∆T.) This relationship is
described by the equation: Q = mc∆T.

Table 2: Determining the specific heat of sand

Materia Mass m Tinitial Tfinal ∆T Q Specific Heat c

l (g) (°C) (°C) (°C) (J) (J/g °C)

Water

Sand

8 PS-2979
 Student Inquiry Worksheet

Analysis Questions

1. Calculate the ratio of the sand's rate of temperature increase to the rate of the
water's temperature increase during the heating condition.

2. Calculate the ratio of the sand's rate of decrease to the rate of the water's
temperature increase during the cooling condition.

3. How much faster did sand heat up and cool down compared to water? How does
your prediction regarding the relative rates of heating and cooling compare with the
results? Give a quantitative comparison.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

4. In Part 1 of this exploration, what was the independent variable and the
dependent variable, and what factors did you hold constant?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Compare your results for Part 2 with your prediction, using specific quantities.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

9
Investigating Specific Heat

6. What is the relationship between the specific heat of a substance and the rate of
temperature change when the energy content of the environment around it changes?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What characteristics of water account for its high specific heat?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

8. In this activity, what does Q represent? Why was Q the same for the water and the
sand?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

9. List some important sources of experimental error that might occur in this
activity.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Synthesis Questions
Use available resources to help you answer the following questions.

1. How could you modify the experiment to be more confident in this assumption?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

10 PS-2979
 Student Inquiry Worksheet

2. Explain how the proximity to a large body of water influences weather. Provide an
example.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Explain how the proximity to a large body of water influences climate. Provide an
example.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Explain how a large land mass influences weather. Provide and example.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Explain how a large land mass influences climate. Provide and example.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

11
Investigating Specific Heat

Multiple Choice Questions

Select the best answer or completion to each of the questions or incomplete statements below.

1. In Part 2 of this activity, to complete your calculations you relied on the

assumption that all of the heat energy in the heated sand was transferred to the water
in the insulated cup until the temperatures of the sand and water were equal. Thus,
you were counting on

A. The laws of motion.

B. The first law of thermodynamics (energy conservation).
C. The second law of thermodynamics (entropy).
D. The third law of thermodynamics (entropy reduces as temperature lowers but is
always present).
E. The law of gravity.

2. All of the following influence global air circulation EXCEPT

A. Uneven heating of the earth’s surface.

B. Rotation of the earth on its axis.
C. The difference in specific heat of water compared to that of land.
D. Seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation.
E. The position of Earth's moon relative to Earth.

3. Compared to a substance with a low specific heat, a substance that has a high
specific heat

A. Requires more heat per gram to be added to it to cause an increase in temperature.

B. Requires less heat per gram to be added to it to cause an increase in temperature.
C. Requires the same amount of heat per gram to be added to it to cause an increase in
temperature.
D. Has a larger mass.
E. None of these is true.

4. Water has a high specific heat because

A. It changes from a solid to a liquid phase at a relatively high temperature.

B. It has intermolecular hydrogen bonds.
C. It boils at 100 °C.
D. It freezes at 0 °C.

12 PS-2979
 Student Inquiry Worksheet

5. The high specific heat of water compared to that of land results in

A. The small range of temperatures in the oceans compared to that on land.

B. Coastal climates that have smaller ranges of temperature compared to those of inland
areas.
C. The ability of large fresh water bodies to stay in liquid phase when air temperatures
drop below 0 °C.
D. All of these are true.

13