Question

What factors could have affected your results?

Do the factors in a T-CHART having Factors leading to a low specific heat on the LEFT side AND Factors leading to a high specific heat on the RIGHT side.​

Answer 1

See below

Step-by-step explanation:

heat gained by metal + heat lost by water = 0

m₁C₁ΔT₁ + m₂C₂ΔT₂ = 0

C₁ = -(m₂C₂ΔT₂)/(m₁ΔT₁)

The factors determining C₁ are

• mass of water
• temperature change of water (T_f - Ti)
• mass of metal
• temperature change of metal (T_f - Ti)

Any factor that makes the numerator higher or the denominator lower than what you thought, will give a calculated C₁ that is too high (and vice versa).

The major sources of uncertainty are probably in determining the temperatures, especially the initial and final temperatures of the metal. However, you will have to decide what the principal factors were in your experiment.

For example, did the metal have a chance to cool during the transfer to the calorimeter? How easy was it to determine the equilibrium temperature, etc?

Factors Affecting the Calculation of Specific Heat Capacity

Too Low Too high

Water Water

Mass less than thought Mass more than thought

Ti lower Ti higher

T_f higher T_f lower

Metal Metal

Mass more than thought Mass less than thought

Ti higher Ti lower