A Study of the Relationship between Heat Energy and Density

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of my project was to determine if density affects the ability of a substance to absorb heat, and if so, to what extent. I hypothesized that a substance with a high denisty will have greater number of particles per unit volume and thus absorb heat better. Methods/Materials Five metal samples with various densities, (from 2.7g/cm^3 to 11.3 g/cm^3), were collected. Five styrofoam calorimeters were each filled with 100mL of water and their temperatures were recorded. Each of the metal samples was heated in boiling water, immediately placed inside a calorimeter filled with water, and cooled to equilibrium. This process was repeated three times for each metal sample. The initial and final temperatures for each calorimeter were recorded. The heat absorption of the metal samples was then calculated from their average temperature changes and masses. Results The metal sample with the lowest density consistently yielded the highest heat absorption, while the metal sample with the highest density consistently yielded the lowest heat absorption. Conclusions/Discussion My conclusion is that the density of a substance does not in fact increase its ability to absorb heat. As the negative association between density and heat absorption demsonstrated, the true influences of a substance's ability to absorb heat is indeed more complex than I originally assumed. Heat absorption of a substance is possibly related to the unique molecular structure of the material.

Competition history

• CSEF 2011 Materials Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1304

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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