An experiment to measure the specific heat capacity of water

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An Experiment to measure the Specific Heating Capacity of Water by electrical heating

Method

Put a known mass of water in a beaker and then immerse the heating coil in the water. Connect the heating coil to a DC power supply. Include an ammeter and a voltmeter in the circuit to measure the current through the coil and the voltage across it. Switch on the current in the coil and leave it until a reasonable temperature increase has been recorded.

Measurements

We recorded the starting temperature and the highest temperature reached during the experiment. We recorded the time for which the current was flowing and we measured the current and voltage throughout the heating interval. We recorded all of our measurements which are shown below.

Before commencing the experiment, we considered what precautions we could take to ensure accuracy. First we changed to a smaller beaker as this would give us less volume of water to heat, enabling us to complete the experiment within the designated time. We also felt that we gained the following advantages

* Less water surface area = less heat loss from water

* Less beaker surface area