Lab 4: Heat vs. Temperature

Lab: Heat and Temperature Name ____________________________
Date ____________________ Period _____________

Background: Which would you rather have spilled on you - A cup full of hot water, or a bathtub full of hot water? Why? The difference between the two illustrates a fundamental difference in the concepts of heat and temperature. Even if both containers (the cup and the bathtub) are at the same temperature the bathtub has more heat stored in it because there is more mass.

When you study energy, and the types of energy, you learn that heat is one of the forms of energy. It is possible to use heat energy to do work. For example, you can use heat energy to make a hot air balloon rise, or make water boil, or even when you are cooking in the oven, to produce a chemical change in the food, like what happens when you bake a cake.

In this lab, we are going to examine the difference between heat and temperature.

Materials: 1- 50 ml Beaker 2 Thermometers 25 ml of Isopropyl Alcohol Tape
Classroom chair (Or a piece of metal and plastic or wood) Goggles

Procedures:
1. Find a piece of metal and plastic. You can use, if available, a plastic chair with metal legs, a wood desk with metal legs or even just a piece of metal that is provided by your teacher. At the same time, do the following procedure: With one hand, touch the metal leg. With the other hand, touch the wood or plastic. How do they feel?

Observations of how the metal and wood feel and prediction of temperature:






2. Obtain two thermometers. Examine both and record the starting temperature in the table below.

3. Tape one to the wood or plastic piece. Tape the other to the metal piece.

4. Wait 5 minutes. Record the temperatures in the table below. Calculate the difference in temperature.

Object Starting Temperature
(degrees Celsius) Ending Temperature
(degrees Celsius) Difference
(degrees Celsius)
Wood or plastic

Metal


What happened to the temperatures? Is this what you expected would happen?





5. Put on your goggles.

6. Obtain the beaker, 25 ml of isopropyl alcohol and a thermometer.

7. Place the thermometer into the alcohol and wait 5 minutes. Record the temperature in the table below.

8. Remove the thermometer from the alcohol and hold it above the beaker. Begin to watch the temperature reading on the thermometer.

What is happening to the temperature on the thermometer?






9. After the temperature has stopped changing, record the temperature in the table below.

10. Repeat steps 7-9 two more times.

11. Return the alcohol to the container designated by the teacher, and clean the beaker, thermometer and your lab station.

Trial Starting Temperature
(degrees Celsius) Ending Temperature
(degrees Celsius) Difference
(degrees Celsius)
1

2

3


Questions:

1. What happens when you return the thermometer to the alcohol? Is this what you expected? Explain.




2. Why does metal feel cold even though the thermometer readings don’t indicate the metal is actually colder than the wood?




3. Is the alcohol cold? Give evidence to explain your answer.





4. What is happening to make the temperature change when the thermometer is removed from the alcohol and held in the air?




5. How is heat different from temperature?