Thermal Equilibrium B Hypothesis example essay topic

536 words
I. Introduction A. Purpose: the purpose of this experiment was to determine if the distance between matter effects the time it takes for the matter to reach thermal equilibrium. B. Hypothesis: If the distance between the matter is decreased then the time it takes for the matter to reach thermal equilibrium will decrease. C. Science concepts: Temperature- measure of the motion of molecules Thermal equilibrium- when two pieces of matter are the same temperature Kinetic energy- energy of motion Heat- energy that flows from matter of a higher temperature to matter of a lower temperature In the experiment the time it took for matter to reach thermal equilibrium was measured. The temperature of the water was measured every thirty seconds. The heat was transferred from the hot water, into the air, then to the cold water. When the water reached thermal equilibrium the average kinetic energy per molecule was the same for all the water. II Procedure: The materials used were- 125 ml flask 200 ml cold water 200 ml beaker 2 lab probes 125 ml hot water logger pro 1. first the lab probes were plugged into the lab pro 2. the lab pro was connected to the USB port 3. the computer was turned on and logger pro was opened 4. the flask was filled with 125 ml of hot water 5. the beaker was filled with 200 ml of cold water 6. the flask and beaker were placed 20 cm apart 7. the temperature was measured every 30 seconds until the hot and cold water reached thermal equilibrium. Results and Conclusions A. Experimental Data: The results of the experiment indicate that the farther apart the matter is the longer it takes to reach thermal equilibrium.

The touching water took only sixteen minutes while the non touching water in about the same amount of time was 41.6 degrees from reaching thermal equilibrium. B. Graphs and Tables: see attached. Evaluate Prediction / Hypothesis: The results of the experiment support the hypothesis. The hypothesis stated that the greater the distance between the water the greater the amount of time it takes to reach thermal equilibrium. IV Extension and Summery A. Extension: Some causes of experimental error may have been if the computer failed and a manual thermometer had to be used some seconds could have been lost. This could have been fixed by using a manual thermometer the whole time or starting over if the computer failed. Another possible cause of experimental error could have been if the probe was being moved while the temperature was being measured.

This could have been fixed by having a second probe holder to hold it steady in the water. A third cause of experimental error could have been if the calibration of the probe was off. This could have been fixed by checking the calibration before the experiment was started. B. Problem Question: Does the distance between matter effect the time it takes for the matter to reach thermal equilibrium? The results of the experiment indicate if the matter is farther apart the time it takes for the matter to reach thermal equilibrium increases.