Thermal

Chapter
Measurements

1 Temperature and heat (thermal

energy) are two different concepts.
A spark that is a few hundred
degrees may not burn you but a
bowl of boiling hot water will
certainly give you a nasty blistering
burn. Why is this so?
Chapter11: Thermal Measurements
 Kinetic Theory of Heat
Consider a beaker of water at room temperature:

At a microscopic level, the

kinetic energy of the moving
molecules is part of the internal
energy of the system.

The other part of the internal

energy of the system comes
from the potential energy of the
intermolecular interaction
between the molecules.
The kinetic theory associates thermal
energy with motion whereas the caloric
theory views heat as a fluid or weightless
gas.

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 Caloric Theory of Heat
Heat was considered a fluid called caloric that flows from hotter to
colder bodies.
As heat was thought of as a material substance in caloric theory, it
was assumed that it could neither be created nor destroyed.

However, while investigating a cannon being bored, Count

Rumford (1753 – 1814) observed that an endless supply of
heat could be produced by friction. Therefore, heat cannot be
a substance that is conserved.

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements
 Sir James Joule (1818 – 1889) studied the relation between heat and
mechanical work.
He found that the rise in temperature is directly proportional to the amount
of work done by the drop in the weights.

The experiment showed that mechanical

energy can be converted into thermal or heat
energy.

The unit for thermal energy is called the calorie (cal). One cal is the
amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of 1 g of
water by 1 °C.

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements
 θ Q
Heat capacity (C) of an object is defined as the amount of thermal energy
required to raise the temperature of the object by 1 K or 1 °C. The SI unit
for heat capacity is J K-1 or J °C-1

C=Q÷θ Q = Cθ

where Q = thermal energy absorbed or released in J

θ = change in temperature in K or °C

Example: θ Q
When a piece of iron is cooled from 70 °C to 40 °C, the thermal energy given
out is 690 J. What is the heat capacity of the piece of iron?

C = 690 J ÷ (70 - 40) °C

= 23 J °C-1

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 θ Q
Specific heat capacity (c) of a substance is defined as the amount of thermal
energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of the substance by 1 K or
1°C. The SI unit for specific heat capacity is J kg-1 K-1 or J kg-1 °C-1

c = C ÷ mass
⇒ Q = mcθ
= Q ÷ mθ

where C is the heat capacity

Q is the amount of thermal energy
θ is the temperature change

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 Examples
1. An electric kettle contains an immersion heater of power 2.0 kW. It takes
5 minutes to heat 2.0 kg of water from 30 °C to 100 °C. Assuming no thermal
energy is lost to the surroundings, what is the specific heat capacity of water?

Power P = 2 000 W Time t = 5 min = 300 s

Thermal energy supplied by heater = P × t
= 2 000 × 300
= 600 000 J

Thermal energy absorbed by water = mcθ

= 2 × c × (100 – 30) J
= 140c J

Thermal energy absorbed by water = Thermal energy supplied by heater

140c = 600 000
c = 600 000 ÷ 140
= 4 286 J kg-1 °C-1

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 2. 0.5 kg of lime juice at 30 °C is placed in the refrigerator which can remove heat
at an average rate of 20 J s-1. How long will it take to cool the lime juice to 5
°C?
(The specific heat capacity of lime juice is 4 200 J kg-1 °C-1)

Thermal energy removed by refrigerator in time t s = ( 20 × t ) J

Thermal energy lost by lime juice, Q = mcθ

= 0.5 × 4 200 × (30 - 5) J
= 0.5 × 4 200 × 25 J

Thermal energy removed by refrigerator = Thermal energy lost by lime juice

20 × t = 0.5 × 4 200 × 25
t = (0.5 × 4 200 × 25) ÷ 20 s
= 2 625 s
= 43.8 min

Hence the time taken to cool the lime juice from 30 °C to 5 °C is 43.8 min

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 Determining Specific Heat Capacity by Electrical Methods

Specific Heat Capacity of a Solid

A sample of a solid block of mass, m, is obtained. The temperature of the
solid before heating is θ1. A heater of power, P, is turned on for a period of
time, t, and the new temperature, θ2, of the block is recorded.

Based on the principle of conservation of energy,

Heat loss by the heater is heat gained by the solid block.

This is assuming that the heat lost to the surroundings is negligible.

The specific heat capacity of the solid, c, is as follows:

Pt = mc(θ2 − θ1)
c= Pt
m(θ2 − θ1)
Chapter11: Thermal Measurements
 Specific Heat Capacity of Liquid
The mass of the empty calorimeter and the specific heat capacity of the
calorimeter must be known. The temperatures of the liquid before and
after turning on the electric heater for a period of time were recorded.

Based on the principle of conservation of energy,

Pt = mcliquid(θ2 − θ1) + Mccalorimeter(θ2 − θ1)

c= Pt - Mccalorimeter
m(θ2 − θ1)ccalorimeter m

Where:
P = power of the electric heater (W)
t = time taken for temperature to rise from θ1 to θ2 (s)
θ = temperature of liquid (K)
m = mass of liquid (kg)
M = mass of calorimeter (kg)
cliquid = specific heat capacity of liquid (J kg−1 K−1)
ccalorimeter = specific heat capacity of calorimeter (J kg−1 K−1)

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements
 What happens during change of states

During a change of state, the energy supplied to a body is no longer used to increase
its atoms’ molecular motion. Hence, the body’s temperature does not rise.

Molecules breaking away from

Temperature / °C one another, no further
increase in molecular motion.
100
Temperature remains
Increasing molecular constant.
motion. Temperature
rises.
28
Time / min

During a change of state, the energy absorbed is used to overcome the

intermolecular forces of attraction.

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 Specific Latent Heat
The specific latent heat of fusion (lf) of a substance is the quantity of heat
needed to change a unit mass of the substance from solid state to liquid
state without a temperature change

The specific latent heat of vaporization (lv) of a substance is the quantity of

heat needed to change a unit mass of the substance from liquid state to
vapour state without a temperature change

General equation : Q=m×l

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 Evaporation
Evaporation is the change in state from liquid to gas that takes place at the surface
of a liquid.
More energetic
molecules escape
Consequently:
⇒ Average kinetic energy of the molecules
remaining in the water is lowered.
Less energetic
molecules remain ⇒ Evaporation produces cooling effect.
in the liquid

Molecules in the liquid differ from one another in that some are more energetic,
while the others are less energetic.

As the more energetic liquid molecules escape into the air, they carry with them
their energy. As a result, the average energy of the remaining water is now
lowered.

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 Differences between Boiling and Evaporation

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements
 States of Matter

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 In a solid, the molecules are arranged close
together and in a regular pattern.
Strong attractive intermolecular forces hold
the molecules in position such that they can only
vibrate in their fixed positions.

In a liquid, the molecules are not arranged in a

regular pattern. They are slightly further apart
than in solids.
The attractive intermolecular forces are not
very strong hence the molecules are able to
move more freely as compared to the molecules
in solids.

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements

 In a gas, the molecules are far apart.
The molecules move about randomly with high
speed. The intermolecular forces are weak.

Chapter11: Thermal Measurements