Lab on Matter

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- 125ml flask 200ml cold water

200ml beaker 2 lab probes

125ml 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 125ml of hot water

5. the beaker was filled with 200ml of cold water

6. the flask and beaker were placed 20cm apart

7. the temperature was measured every 30 seconds until the hot and cold water reached thermal equilibrium

III. 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.