Question

The accuracy of this experiment will depend largely upon how much heat is lost or gained to the surroundings or environment when done in person. Briefly list and describe several possible sources of errors of this type that could be encountered in the experimental procedure and how they might affect the specific heat. Write out your answer in a clear and well supported paragraph.

Answer 1

Hello. You did not inform the experiment to which this question refers, which makes it impossible for it to be answered accurately. However, I will try to help you in the best possible way.

Specific heat is the term that refers to the amount of thermal energy needed to affect the temperature of 1 gram of a homogeneous material, that is, a material that is composed entirely of the same substance. In this case, if we imagine an experiment that evaluates the specific heat of different materials, we can consider that the presence of impurities in that material can alter the specific heat, causing errors in the experiment. The intensity of thermal energy can also cause this change, as well as the presence of water in the tested materials because the water has a very high specific heat, which can interfere in the experiment.