Q: A kilogram ( kg ) of water with a temperature of 20o C is poured into a calorimeter. Subsequently, an unknown mass of stainless steel with a temperature of 80o C is placed in the water. What must the mass of the steel be in order for the temperature of the water to riseContinue reading “AP PHYSICS: Heat Transfer in a Calorimeter”
Category Archives: Heat and Thermal Energy
HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Rate of Heat Transfer Within Various Materials
Thus far, discussions about the rate at which heat is transferred to a system has been ignored. We know from experience that materials that are removed from a hot oven will retain heat energy differentially in accordance with their subatomic structure. Fortunately, such observations have been used to construct a very modest yet useful expressionContinue reading “HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Rate of Heat Transfer Within Various Materials”
HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Heat Energy Absorbed by a Pot of Water
Q: A 3 kg aluminum pot is filled to capacity with 5 kg of water. If the pot and water are both raised from 25o C to 95o C, what total quantity of heat has been absorbed by the system? A: Although the pot and water both rise and reach a common final temperature, theyContinue reading “HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Heat Energy Absorbed by a Pot of Water”
HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Specific Heat Capacity of an Unknown Metal
Q: A sample of an unknown metal is heated to a predetermined temperature. It is subsequently placed within a quantity of water that is room temperature. The temperature of the water is determined to have risen by a certain amount after being measured a second time around. Generally speaking, how may this information be usedContinue reading “HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Specific Heat Capacity of an Unknown Metal”
HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: The Calorimeter
The process of accurately determining the specific heat capacity ( c ) of a substance is dependent upon minimal heat ( Q ) losses occurring within a system’s frame of reference. A calorimeter is designed so that such losses are negligible to the extent that they can be ignored. Consider the diagram below: A thinContinue reading “HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: The Calorimeter”
HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Specific Heat Capacity Determination
Q: A quantity of lead shots weighing 100 g are placed in a beaker full of boiling water. After the shots reach a temperature of 100.0 ℃, they are transferred to a vessel that contains 100 g of water at 20.0 ℃. After sitting for some time, the water cools to an equilibrium temperature ofContinue reading “HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Specific Heat Capacity Determination”
HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Specific Heat vs. Specific Heat Capacity
Although similar, the terms “ specific heat “ and “ specific heat capacity “ are not synonymous. Different materials have different abilities to absorb and store heat energy ( J ). Specific heat capacity refers to the amount of heat energy needed to raise 1 kilogram ( kg ) of a specific substance by 1Continue reading “HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Specific Heat vs. Specific Heat Capacity”
HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin Scales
What relationship exists ( if any ) between heat and temperature? The concepts of heat and temperature are akin to the relationship between the number of moles of a substance and the molarity ( M = moles / L ) of an associated solution. Recall that a mole is a quantity of substance ( atomsContinue reading “HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin Scales”
HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Thermal Expansion of Solids and Liquids.
The subatomic structure of solids and liquids have a profound influence upon how they react to a transfer of thermal energy. Solids have a relatively fixed or rigid structure, whereas the molecular structure of liquids allows for greater expansion and compression. Measurements have shown that ( in general ) a linear relationship exists between theContinue reading “HEAT AND THERMAL ENERGY: Thermal Expansion of Solids and Liquids.”
RENAISSANCE PHYSICS 