Guided lesson

Core Practical: Investigating Specific Heat Capacity

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Aim and variables of the SHC investigation

The aim is to measure a specific heat capacity from first principles: supply counted electrical energy to a known mass and watch the temperature respond. Naming the variables precisely is what turns a heating demonstration into a fair test.

What you know already

Here the ΔQ = mcΔT equation is turned around and measured, not just used. An immersion heater delivers counted joules into a known mass, a thermometer logs the rise, and the gradient machinery of the plotted graph yields the capacity of water or a solid block — with honest error analysis attached.

Key points of understanding

The aim is to determine the specific heat capacity of water or a solid material.
The independent variable is the energy supplied by the heater.
The dependent variable is the temperature rise of the material.
The mass of material and the starting temperature are controlled variables.
Energy supplied is computed from the heater's voltage, current and heating time.

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1.Aim and variables of the SHC investigation

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Key points

The aim is to determine the specific heat capacity of water or a solid material.
The independent variable is the energy supplied by the heater.
The dependent variable is the temperature rise of the material.
The mass of material and the starting temperature are controlled variables.
Energy supplied is computed from the heater's voltage, current and heating time.

First pass

Guided content from the SME authoring corpus — note rn_KQ2Z3k364fVw9Gkq, pinned at 8788fc85a2c1 · promoted SyllabAI/syllabai-resources b3caaaa90c5e

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3.Results table and the energy ledger

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The results live in two books: the meters' energy ledger and the thermometer's temperature column. Tabulating both against time lets every joule be matched to every degree at the moment it arrived.

Specific Heat Capacity Results Table, downloadable IGCSE & GCSE Physics revision notes — An example of a suitable results table for the specific heat capacity experiment looks like this. Energy supplies = voltage x current x time.

4.Analysis by gradient, evaluation and safety

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Plot the ledger and the slope speaks: gradient one over mass times capacity gives the answer, provided the joules all landed — which is where losses, repetition and mains safety take over the evaluation.

Practical SHC Taking gradient, downloadable IGCSE & GCSE Physics revision notes — The gradient of the graph is equal to the specific heat capacity of the substance, assuming a perfectly efficient immersion heater

Aim and variables of the SHC investigation

1.Aim and variables of the SHC investigation

2.Equipment, method and the heating set-up

3.Results table and the energy ledger

4.Analysis by gradient, evaluation and safety