Introduction:

Generally, when different temperatures of fluids are placed in a room at constant temperature,
such fluids, such as hot water will take a different time period to cool compared to hotter water.
Moreover, with different initial temperatures of water, the time needed for water to cool down
will vary. Other factors that affect the rate of cooling of water include:
 1. The surface area of water
2. Volume of water (in beaker) or the amount of water that’s added
3. Room temperature
4. Type of water e.g. distilled or mineral water

In this experiment, the relation between different initial temperatures of water and the time taken
for it to cool down will be investigated.

Aim:

The aim of this experiment is to investigate the relationship between Initial temperatures (Ti) of
150ml pure distilled water and the time taken in minutes (seconds) for the water to cool down 5o
C.

Hypothesis:

My prediction is that the rate of change of the temperature of 150ml distilled water in ºC is
proportional to the difference between its own temperature and the ambient temperature. As the
difference decreases, the rate of cooling will decrease
exponentially in negative as shown on figure 1, a graph of
the time of cooling on the x-axis and the temperature at
any time on the y-axis shows an exponential decrease.
Moreover, The higher the difference in temperature
between distilled water and the surrounding, the faster it
will cool down. This is because of water’s high specific
Figure 1
heat capacity (the amount of heat that one g of a substance
must absorb or lose to change its temperature by one degree Celsius) moreover, when a liquid
has a higher temperature, it needs to

more heat to cool down, so the rate of cooling will increase. This cycle happens through the
convection of heat from water to the surroundings as a mechanism of cooling down.

Theory:

The change in temperature (∆T) is the difference of the initial temperature (Ti) and the final
temperature (Tf):
∆T = Tf –Ti

According to newton’s law of cooling:

T(t)= Ta+(Ti-Ta) e kt

Where:

T(t) = Temperature of the water at time t (in seconds “s”)

T (0) =Ti = Initial Temperature of the water

Ta = Ambient temperature (temp of room)

t = time taken for the cooling

Ts= the surrounding temperature

k = decay constant

Variables

Independent variable: Initial temperature (Ti) of 150ml of pure distilled water, it will be
changed from 55o C to 25o C throughout 6 different incessant variations repeated for three trials,
and the water will be heated using a Bunsen burner.

Dependent variable: time (t) taken for each water variation to cool down by 5o C, so the rate of
cooling down can be calculated and it will be measured using a stopwatch.

Controlled variables:

1. The surface area of water, it’s going to be controlled by using a standard sized beaker
with a diameter of 6cm. This is because the larger the surface area is, the faster the
cooling rate would be since more water particles are exposed

2. Volume of water (in beaker) or the amount of water that’s added, this is going to be
controlled by using a standard sized beaker with a capacity of 250ml and a height of
10cm since the amount of water that’s going to be added is 150ml and shouldn’t be
 changed. Also, making sure that the water volume stays constant throughout the whole
experiment by not letting it reach high degrees (above 100 o C) which can lead to
evaporation and change in the overall volume. This is because when the volume of water
is higher, there are more particles to heat and temperature to raise, therefore it would take
more time if the water volume wasn’t constant throughout the whole experiment.
3. Room temperature, it’s going to be controlled by doing the experiment in a closed room
with a constant (T) that should be maintained through the whole experiment with an
average of 23 o C by measuring it with a digital thermometer at the beginning and end of
experiment.
4. Type of water, it will be controlled using 150ml of pure distilled water and making sure
that it doesn’t change through the experiment. This is because when water isn’t pure or
has different impurities or minerals it would need more time to cool down

Apparatus
1. 150ml of pure distilled water
2. 1 standard glass numbered beaker that can handle heat with a capacity of 250ml,
height of 10cm, and a diameter of 6cm.
3. 2 digital thermometers to measure the Ti of water and T of room
4. Digital stopwatch that can measure time in minutes, seconds, and milliseconds
5. Bunsen burner that can reach a T of 55oC
6. Bunsen burner tripod stand and wire gauze mat
7. Retort stand and clamp
8. Silicon bung to hold the thermometer

Procedure

1. Take the 1st digital thermometer and measure the temperature of the closed room
2. Setup the Bunsen burner by connecting the gas hose and adjusting its barrel and
needle valve (air, height of flame).
3. Place the Bunsen burner tripod stand and the wire gauze mat on top making sure that
the center of the stand and gauze mat is directly on top of the flame in a fixed position
on a horizontal straight surface.
4. Pour 150ml of pure distilled water precisely into the standard glass numbered beaker
making sure that there’s exactly that amount of water.
5. Place the beaker that’s filled with water on top of the tripod stand and gauze mat in a
balanced position making sure its fixed and directly on top of the flame.
6. Set the rotary stand and clamp above the beaker and tripod making sure that its
proportional to the beaker and tripod and directly on top of it
7. Attach the 2nd digital thermometer to the rotary stand and clap into the silicon bung
putting it inside of the water and placing it through the bung in a position where it’s
obvious to the investigators’ line of sight.
8. Draw a table to record the results for every time the temperature drops by 5oC so the
rate of cooling down can be calculated.
9. Turn the Bunsen burner on by turning on the gas and opening the barrel
10. Turn the Bunsen burner off when a T of 55oC is reached from the thermometer and
directly in a quick motion let your partner start the stopwatch
11. When the T of the distilled water drops by 5oC on the thermometer write the exact
time on the table taking in consideration human error and don’t stop the watch.
12. Repeat step 11 until the T of 25oC is reached
13. Subtract the initial time from the final time measured by the stopwatch from the
drawn table where final mass of the first variation is the initial for the second to
calculate the time taken
14. Repeat step number 1 to make sure that the room temperature has stayed constant
throughout the whole experiment to have reliable results to be calculated
15. Calculate the change in temperature by Tf –TI
16. Calculate the rate of cooling down of distilled water with different initial
temperatures.
 17. Repeat all the steps from 1 to 16, 3 times for 3 trials to be reliable and have accurate
results.

Diagram

This image was retrieved from: https://schoolworkhelper.net/temperature-of-hot-water-and-

cooling-rate-lab/

APA citation:

 Temperature of Hot Water and Cooling Rate Lab. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://schoolworkhelper.net/temperature-of-hot-water-and-cooling-rate-lab/
 Other differential equations. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.ugrad.math.ubc.ca/coursedoc/math100/notes/diffeqs/cool.html
 Roberts, D., & Roberts, F. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://mathbitsnotebook.com/Algebra2/Exponential/EXCooling.html
 2.2C: Water's High Heat Capacity. (2019, September 9). Retrieved from
https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book:_Genera
l_Biology_(Boundless)/2:_The_Chemical_Foundation_of_Life/2.2:_Water/2.2C:_Water
’s_High_Heat_Capacity
 (n.d.). Retrieved from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/spht.html