Paper 1 Practicals

Question 1

What apparatus are used to measure the specific heat capacity?

Answer 1

• 4 1kg metal blocks , aluminium, steel,copper,brass
• heater
• insulation
• joule meter
• thermometer

Question 2

Health and safety in the specific hear capacity experiment?

Answer 2

Wear eye protection

-take care

Question 3

Process of measuring specific heat capacity?

Answer 3

1. Measure the initial temperature of the block and set the potential difference of the power supply to 10v . Turn on the power supply an start a stop watch.
2. Every minute for 10 minutes record the temperature and how fast it increases
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for different metals

Question 4

How to prepare for a specific heat capacity experiment?

Answer 4

• measure the mass of the block being used , then wrap it in an insulating layer to reduce energy being transferred to the surroundings
• insert thermometer and heater into block

Question 5

Equation for specific heat capacity

Answer 5

C= change in E/ mass x temperature change.

Question 6

How to calculate specific heat capacity from the experiment?

Answer 6

Read number of joules on joule meter, find mass of the block and the temperature change.

Question 7

What does the joule meter tell us?

Answer 7

How many joules of energy are being used

Question 8

Sources of innacuarcy in specific heat capacity experiment?

Answer 8

• thermal energy passing put pf beaker.: use an insulator with lower thermal conductivity
• not all thermal energy passing into the oil: ensure that immersion heater is fully submerged
• incorrectly reading thermometer: use an electronic temperature probe