Chemistry · Chapter 5

The Calorimetry Bench

Heat a metal block, drop it into water, and let the two settle at one temperature. Every term of q = mcΔT is on screen while it happens.

Inside the cuppress drop it in

21.0 °C water reading lid 100 °C 0 °C 98 °C foam cup, almost no leak Heat lost by the metal = heat gained by the water with the sign flipped

Set up the run

q = mcΔT, line by line

24.4°C shared final temperature ready
Water: mc = 418.4 J/°C
Metal: mc = 19.25 J/°C
ΔT water = 3.4 °C, so q = +1423 J
ΔT metal = −73.6 °C, so q = −1423 J
The water gained the heat the metal lost.

Water has the larger mc here, so the shared temperature lands close to the water start.

Heat values are rounded to three significant figures. Nothing here is lost to the cup or the air, which is the usual assumption for a foam cup.