OBJECTIVES : To measure the heat fusion of ice.

THEORY :
Suppose a certain amount of ice at 0 C is put relatively warm water until all the ice
melts and both the warm water and melted ice reach a certain final equilibrium
temperature.
To melt

mice

grams of ice at 0 C requires an amount of heat:

Q1 =

mice L

(1)

To warm the melted ice to some equilibrium temperature, T f

will require an

amount of heat :

Tf
Q2=C W mice 0 C ) =

Whereby :

Lf

CW mice T f

(2)

=heat of fusion of the ice and has units of Jk g

CW = specific heat of water (4190 J g1

T f =

final temperature of melted ice

If the ice is put in a relatively warm water at temperature

T w , the ice will gain

heat from the warm water. Hence the heat loss by the warm water is given by :

Qloss=mww c w ( T w T f )
warm water

where

mww

= mass of

Therefore the amount of heat required to convert the ice at 0 C to water at

Tf

can be given by,

Qloss =
mww c w ( T w T f ) =

Q 1+ Q 2

mice L+ Cw mice T f

(3)

APPARATUS :
Triple beam balance ,thermometer ,beaker, styrofoam cup and ice cubes

METHOD :
1. A small amount of water was put in a beaker and enough ices were added so
that the temperature comes to equilibrium at 0C. Some water then wass
removed and more ices were added.
2. The mass of Styrofoam was recorded.

mo

3. Tap water was added to the cup (warm water).

4. The temperature of the warm water was found in the cup. T w

5. The mass of the cup and the warm water was recorded , m a .
6. A small ice from the cup was choosed. The ice was wipe with a towel and was
drop into the cup with the warm water.
7. The content of the cup was constantly stired with the thermometer until the
ice melts.Recorded the lowest temperature , T f .
8. The cup was weighed with it content and recorded as
9. The mass of the warm water was calculated , mww .
10.The heat fusion was calculated, Lf

mb .

11.Step 3 until 10 was repeated for 3 more trials.

12.The average value

Lf

was found.

13.The experimental value was compared with the accepted value, Lf

RESULTS :

Mass of empty Styrofoam = 2.6 g

Initial temp, T w
Mass cup +warm

A
27 C

B
27C

C
27C

121.4 g

67.7 g

86.9 g

16 C

19C

19C

135 g

73.6 g

94.3 g

118.8 g

65.1 g

84.3 g

348.38 J/g

325.33 J/g

330.22 J/g

ma

water,

Equilibrium temp,

Tf
Mass cup+ warm
water +ice ,

mb
Mass warm
water, m ww

Heat of fusion,

Lf

( m ww c w ( T w T f ) =

mice L+ Cw mice T f

Average

Lf

Actual value

=334.64 J/g

Lf ,of ice = 333.55 J/g

Experimental value

Lf

,of ice = 334.64 J/g

PRE-LAB QUESTIONS
1. Give the definition of heat.
heat is energy in transfer other than as work or by transfer of matter. When
there is a suitable physical pathway, heatflows from a hotter body to a colder
one.

2. Give the definition of temperature.

The degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment. A measure of the
warmth or coldness of an object or substance with reference to some standard
value. A measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample of
matter, expressed in terms of units or degrees designated on a standard scale.
3. Give the definition of specific heat.
The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of a
substance by one degree Celsius, or to raise the temperature of one pound of a
substance by one degree Fahrenheit.
4. Give the definition of latent heat.
Energy released or absorbed, by a body or a thermodynamic system, during a
constant-temperature process. An example is a state of matter
change, meaning a phase transition, such as ice melting or water boiling.
5. A thermally isolated system is made up of a hot piece of aluminum and a cold
piece of copper,the aluminum and the copper are in thermal contact.The
specific heat capacity of aluminum is more than double that of copper.Which
object experiences the greater magnitude gain or loss of heat during the time
the system takes to reach thermal equilibrium?
Neither; both experience the same size gain or loss of heat .

POST-LAB QUESTIONS
1. Determine the amount of heat required to melt 100 g of ice at -5 c to water
at 10 c.

Q t = mc+mL+mc

Q1=

mc

QL =mL

=2095
=33.35
=2095+33.35+4190

Q2 =mc
=4190

=6318.35
2. Consider two neighboring rectangular houses built from the same
materials.One of the houses has twice the length ,width , and height of the
other.Under the identical climatic condition ,what would be true about the

rate that heat would have to be supplied to maintain the same inside
temperature on a cold day? Compared to the small house,the larger house
would need heat supplied at?
=8 time rate because the volume of the larger box is 8 times than the
smaller box.
=Volume of small box = 1Wh
=Volume of large box=212W2h
=8(1Wh)
3. A 0.600 kg piece of metal is heated to 100 C and placed in an aluminum
can of mass 0.200 kg which contains 0.500 kg of water initially at 17.3
C.The final equilibrium temperature of the mixture is 20.2 C,what is the
specific heat of the metal?
mc(metal)=mc(water)
0.6 kg (c) 100 =0.5 kg 419017.3c
C=604.05J/kg

DISCUSSIONS
This experiment was conducted to measure the heat fusion of ice. Firstly
,the mass of the empty Styrofoam was 2.6 g. Next the initial temperature of warm
water, T w

was the same for all the trial due to the room temperature which was

27 C.Mass of warm water +cup for 1st trial was 121.4 g,2nd was 67.7 g and 3rd trial
was 86.9 g.The lowest temperature or equilibrium temperature was 16 C for 1 st
trial,2nd was 19 C and 3rd trial was also 19 C.The mass of warm water + cup for
1st trial was 135 g,2nd was 73.6 g and 3rd was 94.3 g.Lastly the mass of warm

water was measured ,for 1st trial was 118.8 g,2nd trial was 65.1 g and 3rd trial was
84.3 g.Then the heat of fusion was calculate using the formula:

mww c w ( T w T f ) =
The 1st trial

Lf

mice L+ Cw mice T f

was 348.38 J/g,second trial was 325.33 J/g and 3 rd trial was 330.22

J/g. The average value of latent heat fusion was calculated, 334.64 J/g. The
experimental value then was compared with the actual value,
Actual value=experimental value
333.55 J/g =334.64 J/g
There was slightly differ in the value of the heat fusion due to some error that occur
during the experiment for example the ice was not dried using a towel before it was
drop into the Styrofoam cup .

CONCLUSIONS
To conclude the heat fusion of the ice was measured which was 334.64 J/g.

REFERENCES
1. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/phase2.html

2. http://www.kentchemistry.com/links/Energy/HeatFusion.htm
3. http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/LatentHeatofFusion.html
4. Introduction to Physics, James B.Seaborn,1997,Springer