Specific Heat Lab

⚡ Energy → particles
Mode

Mission: Compare materials

Give equal electrical energy to different samples and compare their temperature rise.

1Choose material
2Start heater
3Inspect particles

Experiment

Apparatus settings

40 W
0.50 kg
80%
1.00×

Inspect apparatus

Red and black: the two electrical leads that complete the heater circuit. Grey: the separate temperature-probe cable.

1.00×

Selected

Live measurements

Temperature20.0 °C
Energy supplied0 J
Temperature rise0.0 °C
Specific heat900 J/kg·°C

Paused. Start the heater to transfer electrical energy into the sample.

Temperature & energy

TemperatureEnergy

Teacher tools

20 °C

The model includes Newton-style heat loss to the room.

Language and voice settings

Guided particle-motion lesson

Voice, apparatus highlights, energy arrows, camera focus, and particle motion advance together.

Ready. Lecture is stopped.

Step 1 of 1010%
Watch on the canvas

The power supply sends energy to the heater.

1. Energy enters the sample

Electrical energy from the power supply is transferred by the heater into the sample.

Choose a chapter

Learning objectives

  • Relate electrical energy, mass, specific heat, and temperature rise.
  • Compare how equal energy affects different materials.
  • Connect temperature to microscopic particle motion.
  • Explain why insulation improves measurements.

Key ideas

Specific heat capacity is the energy needed to raise one kilogram of a material by one degree Celsius. For a measured change, energy equals mass × specific heat × temperature rise.

A material with a larger specific heat capacity needs more energy for the same temperature rise. At the particle scale, added internal energy increases vibration in a solid or random motion in a liquid.

Try these experiments

  • Give copper and water the same power for the same time.
  • Double the sample mass without changing power.
  • Reduce insulation and compare the final temperature.
  • Use Unknown and estimate its identity from the heating slope.

Applications & misconceptions

Applications: cookware, engine cooling, climate moderation by oceans, thermal storage, and material identification.

Misconception: A higher temperature does not always mean more total thermal energy. Mass and material also matter.

Specific heat check

0 / 7

Answer each question for instant feedback.