SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY & SPECIFIC LATENT HEAT

June 2016 P2 Q3
(a) State, in words, the quantity EACH symbol represents in the equation EH=mc.
State the SI unit of EACH quantity as well. (6 marks)
E: c: :
(b) What does the symbol 'l' in the equation EH= ml represent? (1 mark)
(c) In an experiment to determine the specific latent heat of fusion of ice using a container with negligible
heat capacity, a student obtained the following data:
Initial temperature of water: 30 oC
Final temperature of water + melted ice: 20 oC
Initial mass of water : 100 g
Final mass of water plus melted ice : 110 g
(i) Calculate the heat lost by the water. (3 marks)
(ii) Calculate the heat gained by the melted ice. (2 marks)
(iii) Assuming the heat lost by the water is equal to the heat gained by the ice, calculate the specific
latent heat of fusion of ice. (3 marks)
[Specific heat capacity of water = 4.2 Jg-1K-1]

June 2015 P2 Q2
(a) This question concerns thermal heat capacities.
i) State the equation that relates C to c. (1 mark)
ii) State the name of the physical quantity that each letter represents. (2 marks)
iii) Distinguish between 'C' and 'c'. (2 marks)
(b) A substance which has a melting point of 80 0C is cooled from 90 OC to a complete solid at its melting
point. Sketch a graph to represent the statement above. (2 marks)

A physicist converted 2 kg of water at 37 oC to steam at 100 oC.

Assuming no heat is lost, calculate the amount of energy needed
(i) to heat the water to 100 oC (4 marks)
(ii) to heat the water from 100 oC to steam at 100 oC. (3 marks)
(iii) to completely convert the water from 37 oC to steam at 100 oC. (1 mark)

(Specific heat capacity of water = 4200 J kg-1K-1 Specific latent heat of vaporization of water: 2.3 x 106 J kg-1 )

June 2012 P2 Q5b

(i) A block of ice of mass 2000 g was heated from 0 C to steam at 100 C.
Calculate the energy used in Joules. (6 marks)
(ii) If the activity at (b) (i) took place in 6000 s, how much power was utilized? (3 marks)

Specific latent heat of vaporization of steam = 2 250 000 J kg1

Specific latent heat of fusion of ice = 330 000 J kg1
Specific heat capacity of water = 4 200 J kg1 K1
June 2010 P2 Q5
(a) A CSEC Physics teacher gave two groups of
students projects on Specific Heat Capacity.
One group used an electrical method to calculate the
specific heat capacity of a metal block. The circuit
used in this method is shown.

Describe the method used by this group to determine

the specific heat capacity of the metal block. (6 marks)

(b) The second group of students determined the specific heat capacity of a liquid. One set of results is
described below:
It took 300 s for the temperature of 0.1 kg of the liquid to be elevated from 25C to 50C.
The energy supplied was 13.6 kJ during this period.
(i) Assuming that no heat was lost and ignoring the heat capacity of the container, determine the value of
the specific heat capacity of the liquid. (6 marks)
(ii) If the liquid was heated twice as long, what impact, if any, would this have on the specific heat capacity
of the liquid? (1 mark )
(iii) Justify your response in part (ii). (2 marks)

June 2006 P2 Q1
A student was asked to investigate the variation in temperature of 2 kg of water initially at 30C.
When heat energy was supplied to it by an electric heater rated at 1400 W. The following measurements
were taken and recorded:
Temperature of water, /oC 30.0 40.0 51.0 62.5 72.0 80.0 89.0
Heating time, / 0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Temperature change, = ( 30)/ oC 0
Energy supplied, = 1400 / 0

a) Complete the table above. (3 marks)

b) Plot on the graph page opposite a graph of energy supplied against temperature change. (11 marks)
c) Calculate the gradient of the graph. (6 marks)
d) Assuming that the energy loss to the container and the surroundings is negligible, what physical quantity
does this gradient represent? (1 mark)
e) Determine the value of this quantity if 1 kg of water were used and slate the physical quantity this
represents. (2 marks)
f) Water boils at 100C. Calculate the heat energy which must be supplied in order to completely convert
the 2 kg of water to steam. (3 marks)
g) Distinguish between boiling and evaporation. (4 marks)
[Specific latent heat of vaporization of water= 2.3 x 106 Jkg-1]
June 2005 P2 Q3c
A well-insulated hot water tank is used to supply hot water to a residential dwelling house. The immersion
heating element inside the tank has a power rating of 2200 W and the tank contains 125 kg of water at 28C.
Calculate
(i) the heat energy supplied by the heating element in 2 hours ( 3marks)
(ii) the heat energy supplied to the water, given that its temperature increases to 58C (3marks)
[specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J kg-1 K-1]
(iii) the heat capacity of the tank, assuming that the tank and the water reach the same final temp of 58C.
(3 marks)

June 2004 P2 Q2

[2]

[3]

[3]
[3]

[5]
[Specific heat capacity of copper = 385 J kg1 K1]

Jan 2012 P2 Q5
(a) The figure shows two blocks of copper that are placed in contact with each other. Block A
initially has a temperature of 40 C and block B has a temperature of 70 C.

(i) What is the direction of net heat transfer between the blocks? (1 mark )
(ii) The final equilibrium temperature of the blocks is 52 C. Convert this
temperature to Kelvin. (3 marks)

(b) The figure shows the sketch of a natural convection solar water heating system.
(i) The energy absorbed by the solar collector is 300 kJ and 40% of this is transferred to the 2 kg of water
in the copper tubing. If the initial temperature of the water is 27 C, calculate the final temperature of
the water. (6 marks)
[Specific heat capacity of water = 4.2 103 J kg1 K1]

(ii) Outline which feature of the solar water heating system

shown demonstrates EACH of the following thermal
energy principles:
a) Good absorption of heat
b) Heat transfer by convection
c) The greenhouse effect
d) Good heat transfer by conduction
e) Reduction of heat transfer by conduction (5marks)
June 2014 P2 Q1
A Form 4 class was given a School based Assessment activity on the change in temperature of a substance
while it is cooling. The class presented the results shown in the table.

Temperature /oC 90.0 74.5 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 65.0 57.5
Time t/mins 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0
Point on graph A B C D

a) Plot, a graph of Temperature (0/'C) versus Time (t/mins). Begin both axes at the origin and insert the
letters A, B, C and D on the graph. (7 marks)
b) Using a dotted line on the graph, determine the melting point of the substance that was heated.
(2 marks)
c) (i) In what state is the substance as it moves between points B and C? (1 mark)
(ii) Explain why the temperature was constant between B and C. (1 mark)
d) (i) State the phase of the substance at C.(1 mark)
(ii) Describe what is happening to the substance between C and D. (1 mark)
e) If 15 g of the substance was cooled from 90.0C to 57 .5C, calculate the heat, in kilojoules, which was
lost in this activity.
[Specific Heat Capacity of Substance = 1763 Jkg-1 K-1 ]
[Specific Latent Heat of Fusion of Substance= 215 000 Jkg- 1] (8 marks)
f) Complete Table 2 to show the symbols and SI units for the physical quantities given. (4marks)