Thermodynamic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Thermodynamic - Essay Example Materials Approximately 40mL of ice water was measured and weighed, and the initial temperature was taken. On a separate graduated cylinder, 20mL of hot water was measured and weighed, and its initial temperature was also recorded. The ice water and hot water were mixed in a cup and the final temperature after the mixing was measured (Sabbagh, youtube.com). Results and Calculation Four trials were done during the experiment. Table 1 presents the data gathered (see table 1). The theoretical temperature was calculated using the following equations: Heat gained by ice H2O = Heat loss by hot H2O (Eqn 1) Heat loss = m x c x change in T = 4.186 J/g-?C x m (grams) x (initial T – final T) (Eqn 2) Heat gained = m x c x change in T = 4.186 J/g-?C x m (grams) x (final T – initial T) (Eqn 3) Table 1 Results Obtained Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Mass of ice H2O 39g 39g 39g 39g Mass of hot H2O 21g 19g 20g 19g Temp of ice H2O 12.2?C 16.9?C 16.3?C 16.9?C Final Temp after mixing 34.0 ?C 35.8?C 35.4?C 34.8?C Actual Temp of hot H2O 73.6?C 71.6?C 72.2?C 72.7?C Theoretical Temp of hot H2O 74.49?C 74.59?C 72.65?C 71.54?C % error 1.20% 4.18% 0.61% 1.59% Source: Sabbagh, A. â€Å"Physics Thermodynamics Lab.m4v†. You Tube. ... The percent error was used to compare the theoretical hot water temperature with the actual temperature that was measured in the experiment. So for trial 1, the percent error was calculated in this manner: % error = (actual – theoretical) / theoretical x 100 = |(73.6?C – 74.49?C)| / 74.49?C x 100 % error = 1.20% The experiment done by Sabbagh, et al (youtube.com) was able to prove the experimental applicability of the equation for specific heat using the ice water-hot water system, and they were able to get an average 1.20% error in the four trials that have been conducted. Thermodynamics Equilibrium The first law of thermodynamics deals with energy conservation of a system at equilibrium, most commonly, energy is expressed as heat. It states that the change in internal energy is the difference between the heat supplied to the system and the work that was done (â€Å"First Law of Thermodynamics†, gsu.edu). This law then governs the transfer of heat in a system at equilibrium, from a system with high temperature to the system with lower temperature (â€Å"Heat Transfer†, gsu.edu). In this experiment, a gaseous system in equilibrium was investigated, with changes dictated on the temperature and the number of particles present in the system. The changes that were done were observed and recorded. First Experiment. Write down the initial temperatures for each of the two chambers. The initial temperature of the left chamber was 150?C, while the right chamber had a temperature of 750?. What do you think the final equilibrium temperature will be? I expect the final equilibrium temperature to be approximate 450?. Why are there more particles in the cold side than the warm side when you first start