CALORIMETRY

Heat (thermal) Capacity C

heat capacity (C) is the heat energy
required to raise the temperature of a
body by one degree (oC or K).

where,
Q is the heat energy added to the
body
is the temperature rise of the body
C is the heat capacity of the body
The units of heat capacity are Joules per
degree. Since Kelvin and Celsius degrees
are equivalent the units are: JK-1 or JC-1

Specific Heat Capacity c

specific heat capacity (c) is the heat energy required to
raise the temperature of unit mass by one degree (oC or
K).

where,
Q is the amount heat energy concerned
m is the mass of the body
is the temperature rise of the body
c is the specific heat capacity of the body
The units of specific heat capacity are Jkg-1K-1 or
Jkg-1C-1

Determination of Specific Heat

Capacity by experiment
These two methods concern the
heating up a known mass and
measuring the temperature rise for a
known amount of electrical energy
used.
Specific Heat Capacity of a liquid by
an electrical method
Specific Heat Capacity of a solid by
an electrical method

Specific Heat Capacity of a liquid

by an electrical method
The heat energy supplied by the electrical
element is given to the liquid and its
container, producing a temperature rise
.
The heater current (I) and voltage (V) are
monitored for a time (t).
energy supplied by heater = VIt
energy absorbed by liquid and container =
mLcL + mCcC
where,
mL mass of liquid
mL , mC , cC are known and V, I,
mC mass of container
t, are all measured. So the
cL specific heat capacity of liquid
specific heat capacity of the
cC specific heat capacity of container
liquid (cL)can be calculated.
Equating the two quantities,

Specific Heat Capacity of a solid

by an electrical method
The method is very similar to that
for a liquid except that there is no
container. The solid under test is a
lagged cylinder with holes drilled
for the thermometer and the
heater element. A little glycerine
is added to the thermometer hole
to improve thermal contact.
Heat energy supplied by the
electrical element is given directly
to the solid, producing a
temperature rise .

where,
mS - mass of solid
cS - specific heat
capacity of solid
mS is known and V, I, t,
are measured. So
the specific heat
capacity of the solid
(cS)can be calculated.

Latent Heat
Latent heat is the energy involved when a
substance changes state.
Latent heat energy (L) has two components:
U - the increase/decrease in internal PE
W - the external work involved in
expansion(+W) and contraction(-W)
This can be summarized as:

 The phase changes involving latent

heat energy are:
phase change
solid to liquid
liquid to solid
liquid to vapour
vapour to liquid
solid to vapour
vapour to solid

action
melting
fusion
vaporization
condensation
sublimation
sublimation

symbol
LF
LF
LV
LV
LS
LS

 The graph illustrates the temperature changes

when a solid(eg ice) is heated from below its
that the changes of state
melting point, to aboveNote
boiling.

occur in the flat areas. There is

no temperature rise here and
hence no increase in KE.
latent heat must be absorbed
from the surroundings (and
given to the substance) for the
substance to melt or boil.
Latent heat is given out to the
surroundings (from the
substance) when the substance
condenses or freezes.

Specific Latent Heat

Capacity
the latent heat of fusion of a substance is the energy involved in
changing the state of unit mass of the substance at the
melting/freezing point.
the latent heat of vaporization of a substance is the energy
involved in changing the state of unit mass of the substance at the
boiling point.
This may be summarized by the equation:

where,
Q is the amount heat energy
concerned
m is the mass of substance
l specific latent heat of
fusion/vaporization
The units of specific heat capacity are Jkg-1

Determination of Specific Latent heat Capacity by

experiment

There are a number of different methods

for finding l for different substances
and different phase changes.
Here we will briefly look at two methods
concerning fusion and vaporization.
The specific latent heat of ice by the
'method of mixtures'

 Ice cubes are added to

hot water of known
temperature in a
copper calorimeter. The
mixture is stirred until
all the ice has melted
and a final reading of
temperature taken.

 where,
mL mass of water
mI mass of ice
mC mass of calorimeter

cL specific heat capacity of liquid water

cC specific heat capacity of calorimeter

high temperature of the hot water

final temperature of mixture

l specific latent heat of fusion of ice

Hence l can be calculated from the knowns and measured
values.

The specific latent heat

of vaporization of a liquid
Water is heated electrically until it boils.
The condensed water (m) is collected over
time (t). Heating element readings of
voltage (V) and current (I) are recorded.
In the steady state,
electrical energy supplied = heat energy to
produce steam

 3
(a) The resistance of a thermistor at 0 C is 3840
. At 100 C the resistance is 190 .
When the thermistor is placed in water at a particular
constant temperature, its resistance is 2300 .
(i) Assuming that the resistance of the thermistor
varies linearly with temperature, calculate the
temperature of the water.
(ii) The temperature of the water, as measured on
the thermodynamic scale of temperature, is 286 K.
By reference to what is meant by the thermodynamic
scale of temperature, comment on your answer in (i).

 (b) A polystyrene cup contains a mass of 95

g of water at 28 C.A cube of ice of mass 12 g
is put into the water. Initially, the ice is at 0
C. The water, of specific heat capacity 4.2
103 J kg1 K1, is stirred until all the ice melts.
Assuming that the cup has negligible mass
and that there is no heat exchange with the
atmosphere, calculate the final temperature of
the water.
The specific latent heat of fusion of ice is 3.3
105 J kg1.

 (a) Define specific latent heat.

(b)The heater in an electric kettle
has a power of 2.40 kW.When the
water in the kettle is boiling at a
steady rate, the mass of water
evaporated in 2.0 minutes is 106 g.
The specific latent heat of vaporisation
of water is 2260 J g1.
Calculate the rate of loss of thermal
energy to the surroundings of the
kettle during the boiling process.

 (a) State what is meant by the internal

energy of a system.State and explain
qualitatively the change, if any, in the
internal energy of the following systems:
(i) a lump of ice at 0 C melts to form
liquid water at 0 C,
(ii) a cylinder containing gas at
constant volume is in sunlight so that its
temperature rises from 25 C to 35 C.

 A microwave cooker uses electromagnetic waves of

frequency 2450 MHz. The micro waves warm the food
in the cooker by causing water molecules in the food to
oscillate with a large amplitude at the frequency of the
microwaves.
(a) State the name given to this phenomenon.
The effective microwave power of the cooker is 750 W.
(b) The temperature of a mass of 280 g of water rises
from 25 C to 98 C in a time of 2.0 minutes. Calculate
a value for the specific heat capacity of the water.
The value of the specific heat capacity determined from
the data in (b) is greater than the accepted value.
A student gives as the reason for this difference: heat
lost to the surroundings. Suggest, in more detail than
that given by the student, a possible reason for the
difference.