Labs / Chemistry
Calorimetry
Drop a hot substance and a cold one into the same insulated cup. Heat drains from the warmer side into the cooler side until both sit at one shared temperature. Drag a chamber up or down, or nudge the sliders, and the readouts predict the equilibrium temperature and the total heat that moved using q = mcΔT with energy conserved.
Water 90.0 °CIron 20.0 °CTeq 83.2 °Cq 0 Jq total 4266 J
What to try
- The equilibrium temperature usually lands nearer one substance than the other. Which one, and what makes it "win"?
- Water has a huge specific heat. Swap iron for copper or lead — does a lower c pull the final temperature toward the metal or toward the water?
- Double the mass of the cold substance. Does that shift the final temperature as much as doubling its specific heat would?
- Can you choose masses and temperatures so the two substances meet exactly in the middle?
- Heat lost by the hot side equals heat gained by the cold side — so why don't their temperature changes match in size?