The aim of my investigation is to determine the specific heat capacity of aluminium.

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The Specific Heat Capacity of Aluminium

Aim:

The aim of my investigation is to determine the specific heat capacity of aluminium.

Theory:

Specific heat capacity is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1kg of mass by 1degree Celsius.(1) In order to calculate the specific heat capacity heat capacity (c) of aluminium I can use the equation, H=mc T (2)

Therefore c= H

m T

I can measure the mass of the aluminium, (m), and the change in temperature of the block, ( T), however the energy change, ( H), is hard to measure. Another equation I can use to calculate H is the equation E=ItV (3). I can measure the energy supply using an electrical heater and recording the current the time and the voltage. Using the first law of thermodynamics or conservation of energy (E=(H. Therefore ItV=mc(T. Using this knowledge I can design the basic circuit required to record the necessary measurements.

The aluminium block has two holes one containing a heat filament and one containing a thermometer. In order to try and measure the energy from the heating filament entering the block I