Specifc Heat Capacity

• Determining the specific heat capacity of vegetable oil

  1. Place beaker on balance and zero it

  2. Add oil and record mass

  3. Place thermometer and immersion heater in oil

  4. Measure initial temperature of oil

  5. Insulate beaker to reduce thermal energy transfer to the surroundings.

  6.Connect joulemeter to immersion heater

  7. Leave setup for 30 minutes

  8. Record total joules that passed through the joulemeter and final temperature

  9. Use SHC equation to find the Specific Heat Capacity of the oil
• Specific heat capacity


  The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of a substance by one degree Celsius
• Specific heat capacity = Change in thermal energy / (Mass x Temperature change)
• Potential sources of inaccuracy

  • Thermal energy passing to beaker and air
  • Not all thermal energy from heater passes to oil
  • Incorrectly reading thermometer
  • Thermal energy not spreading evenly through oil
• Ways to reduce inaccuracies:

  Use an insulator with a lower thermal conductivity

  Ensure that the immersion heater is fully submerged

  Use an electronic temperature probe

  Stir the oil.
• SHC practical with a solid material

  1. Place Immersion Heater into the central hole at the top of the block

  2. Place the thermometer in the smaller hole and put a couple of drops of oil into the hole to ensure the thermometer is surrounded by hot material

  3. Fully insulate the block by wrapping it loosely in cotton wool

  4. Record the temperature of the block

  5. Connect the heater to the power supply of 10 V which shouldn't change and take readings of the temperature and the current every minute for 10 minutes then turn it off

  6. Temperature should still rise after 10 minutes even after the heater has been switched off then it will begin to cool - record the highest temperature reached and calculate the temperature rise

  7. Use the equation P = VI and after E = Pt to find the Energy transferred

  8. Use the SHC equation to find the Specific Heat Capacity of the block