Experimenting in Chemistry

To observe the first law of thermodynamics in action (energy gained by a system is equal to energy lost by the surroundings), our chemistry class created their own coffee-cup calorimeters which they used to determine the specific heat of an unknown metal sample. By carefully collecting and applying the data of the system’s initial state (temperature, mass, specific heat), students were able to calculate the amount of energy transferred within their calorimeters. Using this data, and a little math (of course), each lab group was able to determine the experimental specific heat of their metal samples. Students compared their experimental results with the actual specific heat of their samples to determine their percent error in calculation. Lastly, by interpreting their data, students were able to evaluate the effectiveness of their calorimeter and detail methods that perhaps affected their final results.