Saturday, August 31, 2024

Heat Labs

 Heat is another unit taught in Chemistry.  Apologia’s General Science and Physical Science textbooks don’t include Enthalpy or Heat.  However, other Physical Science textbooks do.   I have some labs.  All of these labs can be performed by middle school students.  The Specific Heat and Calorimetry labs are a little trickier to understand and calculate. Below the links are a few videos.

1. Calibrate a Thermometer.  This activity guide has both the ice water and boiling water methods.  Try both.  I’ve done this with all types of thermometers: digital, metal-backed, glass, and cooking.

2. Here is a Heating Curve lab with sample data to graph.  We’ve done this lab with ice in a pan on the stove.  Record the temperature every minute.  Yes, you are watching ice melt and water boil.  If you have a glass pan, use it to watch the water surface as it begins to boil.

3.  Coffee Cup Calorimetry measures how well a metal holds heat.  Try Soda Can Calorimetry, too.











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