Specific Heat

Subject:
Chemistry
Grade Level:
Chemistry

Lesson Description

This experiment uses electricity to heat a liquid while you measure the temperature change. A dial thermometer is visible on the screen. You will click on the tip of the thermometer pointer.

The amount of electricity gives you the heat energy. Divide by temperature change to get heat capacity. Heat capacity is the amount of heat required to cause a temperature change of one degree. It depends on the amount of material and its identity.

Specific heat capacity or, simply, specific heat measures the heat capacity of a single mass unit. In SI units, it measures the amount of energy in joules (J) required to raise one kilogram of a substance by one kelvin (K) or, equivalently, one degree Celsius.
The neck's calibrations show 0.1 ml per large calibration mark and 10 microliters (μl) for the smaller marks. Microliters are 1,000 times smaller than milliliters.Some analog measurements are listed below.

Length: meter stick
Mass: triple-beam balance
Force: spring scale
Temperature: thermometer
Volume: graduated cylinder
In this lab, you'll measure distance, mass, temperature, force, and volume.
Measurement

Any measurement consists of two parts:
the value and
the units.

If you report a length as being 1.7, no one will know whether it's the size of a bacterium or a continent. Don't leave out the units.

Accuracy
Accuracy tells how good your measuring device is.
Does it measure correctly?

Precision
Precision is all about repeating measurements and getting the same value.
Try to measure the height of someone who won't stand still.

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