Specific Heat of Solids

Salvacion, Jozel John. P.

Physics Department, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila
jozel_salvacion@dlsu.ph

Abstract - This experiment was done to determine the

Specific Heat Capacity, or Specific Heat, of Aluminum,
Copper, and Lead with the use of a Calorimeter,
Thermometer, and an Electric Steam Generator. Using
the method of mixtures, the metal samples should
undergo change in temperature and attain thermal
equilibrium with the water. After the experiment, it
was shown that Aluminum had the highest specific heat
and Lead had the lowest specific heat out of all the
three (3) metals tested. Even though Aluminum had the
highest percentage error out of the experiments, the
calculated value is still within the threshold set by the
facilitator making the value acceptable. Furthermore,
if this experiment were done in a well-controlled
environment and with more accurate equipments, the
resulting figures would have had less percentage error.
This experiment was proved to be a reliable way to
calculate for the specific heat of a material because it
yields results with errors well under 15% if done
correctly.
Keywords - Specific Heat Capacity; Thermal
Equilibrium; Change in Temperature; Method of
Mixtures
I. INTRODUCTION
The Specific Heat Capacity, or Specific Heat, of
a substance is the amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of the substance by one (1) degree Celsius.
Specific Heat is often denoted by the variable c. The unit
used for the Specific Heat of a substance is in calories per
gram degree Celsius (cal/g-C).
Thermal Equilibrium is when two contacting
bodies are no longer transferring or absorbing heat from
one another. Related to that, the temperature of both
bodies is no longer changing and is in an equilibrium or
state of stability.

The Method of Mixtures makes use of the

concept of the Law of Heat Exchange. It states that when a
cold substance is mixed with a hot substance, the system
undergoes change in temperature where the cold substance
absorbs heat from the hot substance until thermal
equilibrium is attained. In this case, the cold substance is
the water and the hot substance is the heated metal.
The resulting masses (m) and changes in
temperature (T) of the metal and water in the experiment
is needed to calculate for the specific heat of the metal
used and is denoted as

C sample

. The data gathered

will be substituted in Equation (1).

C sample =( M water Cwater ) T water

M sample T sample
(1)

M water

and

M sample

is the mass of the

water and mass of the metal sample respectively. While

T water

T sample

and

is the change in

temperature of the water and the metal sample

respectively. Lastly,

C water

is already at a fix value of

1 cal/g-C
II. METHODOLOGY
We first prepared the materials needed which are
the Calorimeters, Water, Thermometer, Weighing Scale,
Thread, Cold Water, Electric Steam Generator, and
samples of Aluminum, Copper, and Lead.
After the preparation of the materials, the
Electric Steam Generator is filled halfway with tap water

to boil it. Next, the mass of a dry and empty calorimeter

and the mass of a metal sample is then measured and
represented by the variables

mcal

msample

and

respectively. After measuring the mass of the metal

sample, a string is then tied to it and it is suspended in the
boiling water for a couple of minutes for the heat to be
transferred fully.

T sample =100 CT final

The process is then repeated for the other 2 metal
samples. The data obtained is substituted back to Equation
(1) and then compared to the standard value by calculating
for the percentage error. The threshold for error was
established at 15%.

A calorimeter is then filled with enough cold

water to submerge the metal sample. The temperature of
the cold water is then recorded as

T cold

. Immediately

after taking down the temperature of the cold water, we

then pulled out the metal sample out of the boiling water,
wiped it briefly yet thoroughly, and then submerged it in
the cold water. The cold water with the submerged metal
sample is then stirred with the thermometer until it reaches
the maximum possible temperature it can achieve and this
temperature is known as the system's thermal equilibrium.
The temperature at the equilibrium is then recorded as

T final

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1: Data Sheet
Material of Metal
Sample
Mass of Calorimeter,

Immediately
after
recording
the
final
temperature, the mass of the water is then computed by
subtracting the total mass of the calorimeter, metal sample,
and the water, with the mass of the calorimeter and the
metal sample. This process can be represented by Equation
(2).

M water= M total ( M cal + M sample )

mcal

Mass of Metal Sample,

msample

change of temperature of the water (

T water

after

Mass of Calorimeter,
Water, and Metal

mtotal

coming into contact with the heated metal sample using

Equation (3).

T water =T finalT cold

(3)
Using Equation (4), we then computed for the
change of temperature of the metal sample.

mwater

14

14

18

205

200

238

456

495

468

251

281

212

13.8

9.3

9.1

25.3

14.8

11.8

11.5

5.5

2.7

(g)

(g)

Temperature of Water,

T cold

Lead

(g)

Mass of Water,

The next thing we did was to compute for the

Copper

(g)

Sample,

(2)

Aluminum

(C)

Equilibrium
Temperature of Water
and Metal Sample,

T final

(C)

Temperature Change
of Water,

T water

(C)

Temperature Change
of Metal Sample ,

T sample

(C)

71

81.5

84.5

Specific Heat of Water,

c water

(cal/g-C)

Calculated Specific
Heat (cal/g-C)

0.198

0.095

0.028

Standard Value of
Specific Heat

0.220

0.093

0.031

Percentage Error

15%

2%

8%

Table 1 shows the data obtained from the

experiment and the resulting values for the Specific Heat
of the Aluminum, Copper, and Lead metal samples.
It was shown in the table that the highest change
of temperature of the water was caused by the Aluminum
while the lowest change was caused by Lead. Furthermore,
the metal that had the highest temperature change was
Lead and the lowest was Aluminum. Lastly, it was evident
that Aluminum had the highest specific heat while Lead
had the lowest.
I believe that if a metal sample's temperature can
be easily increased and it does not heat water effectively,
then that said metal has a low specific heat capacity and
vice versa. Since the specific heat capacity of a metal is
the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of
the metal by 1 degree Celsius, then the pattern shown in
the data is not an anomaly but rather an expected outcome
in the experiment.

The resulting error could have been because of

the temperature of the room, accuracy of the instruments,
human error in reading the values shown by the
instruments, or the duration of the wiping of the metal
sample after being pulled out from the hot water.
Nonetheless, the values acquired were either under or
equal to the threshold (15%) given by our instructor.
IV. CONCLUSION
The experiment was proved to be a reliable way
to calculate for the specific heat of a material. The values
obtained were 0.198, 0.095, and 0.028 for Aluminum,
Copper, and Lead respectively. The resulting values were
equal or below 15%.
REFERENCES
[1] Specific Heat of Solids PDF available at :
http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/academics/colleges/cos/physics/_p
df/cos-specific-heat-of-solids.pdf