Question

Online Experiment: Insulators

Remember, in this experiment, you will be measuring the amount of heat lost by the water in the calorimeter, testing the insulating properties of three types of fabric and air. You will be measuring the temperature every 30 seconds for six minutes for each of the samples.

First, start with air as our insulator. Air will be our control sample. Fill the inner cup with warm water, replace the stopper, and measure the temperature of the water at time 0.0 min.

Now record the temperature of the water every thirty seconds for six minutes for the air sample.

Next, use Test Sample 1, the fifty-two percent cotton and forty-eight percent polyester fabric. Put the fabric between the small and large cups, refill the small cup with warm water, and replace the stopper. Record the starting temperature and the temperature every thirty seconds for the next six minutes.

Repeat the process with Test Sample 2, the one-hundred percent acrylic fabric, and Test Sample 3, the eighty percent and twenty percent polyester fabric.

Now that you have completed collecting the data, follow the directions to present your findings.

a. True

b. False

Answer 1

The 2-L bottle of water lost more heat because it had a greater mass, and in calorimetry, the amount of heat loss is dependent on mass, specific heat, and temperature change.

Step-by-step explanation:

The second student's answer is correct; the 2-L bottle of water lost more heat because it had a greater mass of water to cool down. In terms of heat transfer, the amount of heat lost or gained by a substance is directly proportional to the mass of the substance, the change in temperature, and the specific heat capacity. Therefore, the larger mass of the 2-L bottle would account for more heat loss. The first student's answer is incorrect because while the starting and ending temperatures are the same for both bottles, heat loss is also a function of mass, not just temperature change. The third student's error is assuming the rate of cooling correlates with the total heat loss, which is not necessarily true. The rate of cooling can be faster for smaller quantities due to the ratio of surface area to volume, but total heat lost is still dependent on mass. The fourth student's skepticism overlooks that the final temperature is given as the 'temperature of the refrigerator,' suggesting a standard reference point.