I have a sheet with some homework Questions on it.I am slightly confused, and do not understand what it is asking.It says that an experiment has taken place with heating metals, an electric heater has been fitted and a thermometer.below this explanation there is a table, with metals: aluminium, and copper.Then the start temperature in degrees c. and end temperature. Then energy given to metal in Joules.Question 1 is:Compare Block A and Ba. what is the input variable?The metal is Aluminium in A, with a mass of 200g and start temperature of 21 degrees C. and end temperature of 51 degrees C the energy given at the end is 53,900 joules!‘B‘ is exactly the same temperatures but half of the mass and half of the energy given!could someone please explain the input and outcome variables!I‘m sorry it‘s so long and confusing, but I don‘t know what else to do!x
This looks like an experiment to determine the 'specific heat capacity' (sometimes referred to as 'specific heat') of aluminium. The equation relating heat energy to specific heat capacity, where the unit quantity is in terms of mass is: ΔQ mcΔT where ΔQ is the heat energy put into or taken out of the substance, m is the mass of the substance, c is the specific heat capacity, and ΔT is the temperature differential where the initial temperature of the reaction is subtracted from the final temperature. It is quite usual in an experiment to vary one input which is expected to affect the measurement in exactly one distinct way only. In the example you have given, it is the mass that is the input variable as the temperatures are the same (i.e. the temperatures do not vary). We could have kept the mass constant and varied the temperatures in which case the input variable would have been ΔT. The 'outcome variable' is the energy required, ΔQ, to achieve the difference in temperature. Hope this helps.
