Heat Capacity of a Metal Lab

Today we got to complete the metal lab! Because of time restraints, we could not do both copper and lead so we had to pick which one we wanted to try. Half of the class did copper and the other half did lead. My partner and I choose to do copper. During the experiment, we used a form of calorimetry to determine the specific heat of copper. By measuring the increase in temperature of the water in which we put the copper in, we calculated the specific heat of the metal. We set the energy gained to the negative energy lost to find the answer. The steps we followed today:

1. Places 100.mL of room temp. distilled water into a Styrofoam cup and recorded temp.
2. Find the mass of the test tube
3. Place metal in test tube about 1/3 of the way
4. Find the mass of the test tube with metal
5. Heat the metal up in a water bath to boiling. Let boil for 5 minutes then record the temperature of the water (the metal should be the same temp.)
6. Pour the metal into the water with the Styrofoam cup. Place probe in cup and stir 
7. Record the highest temperature reached by the water

Our Data:

• mass of test tube- 15.9355
• mass of test tube and metal- 54.9484
• initial temperature of metal- 100.1 oC
• initial temperature of H20- 23.4 oC
• final temperature of metal and H20- 27.5 oC

 Using this data we were able to find the specif heat of copper!

Overview or explanation of lab
How to calculate specific heat

First Lecture

Calculate Heat:

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We learned about heat as a form of energy change. Heat occurs when bonds are formed, not when bonds are broken in chemical reactions. Exothermic- when energy leaves a system. Endothermic- when energy enters a system. Endothermic vs Exothermic
                                                        
Measuring Energy Changes

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Measuring Energy Changes: converting Calories to calories and reverese

http://www.sartep.com/chem/images/calorieconvert.gif

 

Types of Energy

• Kinetic Energy- energy of motion
• Radiant Energy- energy from the sun or solar energy
• Thermal Energy- energy associated with the random motion of atoms and molecules 
• Chemical Energy- energy stored within the structural units of chemical substances
• Potential Energy- energy stored or energy of position

Boat Race

Today we tested our biodiesel boats! Throughout the week we worked on building our boat (S.S. Megan2) and figuring out how to incorporate the motor, making it float, and a spot to put the biodiesel. A few days before my partner and I tested our boat and it went very fast; however, today's runs didn't go so well. We tried going second but realized our motor had a hole in it because it would work. We tried another motor but that too had a hole in it. Finally we found one that worked and did our first run. The time was okay but not as fast as other days. We decided to add bumpers to our boat so it would go straight and not bump into the sides of the gutter. Our second trial went better but still not as fast as our first day. There were many interesting looking boats and I really enjoyed this project! Our class had a wide range of times. Throughout all the classes, we had the fastest and slowest boats of the day.
Example of Boat Races

Biodiesel Day

Today we made our biodiesel to use for our boats later! It was really cool to think that we were Making fuel that works in cars. All we had to do was take oil (either from chick-fil-a or corn oil) and add KOH in an E. Flask with a stir bar in it. Then we put it in a water bath and let it heat and stir for 20-30 minutes. It was surprising that that was the basic process for making biodiesel. After it was done, we put it into a cup and let it sit overnight. Tommorrow we will take off the glycerol fat and leave the good biodiesel to use later. My partner and I were 1/4 groups between all the classes to use corn oil instead of the Chick-fil-a oil.
How to Make Biodiesel

Our Biodiesel Video

This week we were working on building a video to promote the use of biodiesel. We started by researching what it was, how it is made, and what the benefits are from using it. Our video had to provide all this information in under a minute. Our final product can be found on youtube if you search "A Better Alternative to Petroleum" or click here. This project was not hard, however, it took a lot of effort and patience to understand the program we were using. Uploading was very tricky, but we were finally able to get it! For website for the video competition, click here.
Two Examples of Biodiesel videos;
Example 1
Example 2