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Lesson 4 Thermal Energy

  Virtual Lab

Heat Transfer by Conduction © Explore Learning


Background Information:

This lab will help you visualize how thermal energy moves between substances. It will also help you understand how the specific heat capacity of a substance affects how it heats and cools as well as how it transfers heat.

Please note: if you scroll down while in the Gizmo you will see a list of questions. You DO NOT need to complete these questions. You are able to complete them for extra practice if you would like.


  1. Click on the play icon to open the Gizmo. Print students can access the Gizmo in the Online Resources for Print Student section of their online course.
  2. To set up the simulation, click on the “GRAPH” tab.
© Explore learning
D4.5 The graph tab

  1. Make sure the substance selected is “Aluminum.” Please note that the simulation spells aluminium as aluminum. 
  2. Note the initial temperature of beaker A and beaker B and record it in a chart similar to the one below.



    		Initial Temperature (°C)
    		Final Temperature (°C)
    		Time It Took for Temperatures
    to Reach Equilibrium
    aluminium beaker A



    beaker B


    copper beaker A


    beaker B


    Steel beaker A


    beaker B


    Glass beaker A


    beaker B




  3. Click the play button in the simulation and watch what happens to the temperature of both beakers.
  4. Watch for when the two temperatures become the same (reach equilibrium) and take note of how long it took for that to happen. Record this observation and the final temperature of each beaker in your observation chart.
  5.  Look at the graph that has been created and note what has happened to the temperatures of each beaker. You can zoom out on the graph to see all of the data recorded if needed.
  6. Click reset and change the substance selected to “Copper.”
  7. Repeat steps 4 to 7 for copper.
  8. Click reset and change the substance selected to “Steel.”
  9. Repeat steps 4 to 7 for steel.
  10. Click reset and change the substance selected to “Glass.”
  11. Repeat steps 4 to 7 for glass.
  12. Please return to the top of this page and click on analysis to complete the analysis questions.
© Explore learning
D4.6 Aluminum is selected
Here is an example of one row of the observation chart filled out.





Initial Temperature (°C)
Final Temperature (°C)
Time It Took for Temperatures
to Reach Equilibrium
aluminium beaker A
95
50
22 min 50 s
beaker B
5
50
copper beaker A


beaker B


Steel beaker A


beaker B


Glass beaker A


beaker B



  1. Which substance had the highest specific heat capacity? Which one has the lowest?

    Glass has the highest specific heat capacity, and copper had the lowest.
  2. How did you know which substance had the highest specific heat capacity and which one had the lowest?

    The substance that caused the beakers to take the longest to reach the same temperature has the highest specific heat capacity. This is because it takes a lot of energy for that substance to heat up, and it takes a long time for that substance to release the energy when cooling down.

    The substance that caused the beakers to reach the same temperature the fastest has the lowest specific heat capacity. This is because that substance will gain and release thermal energy much faster.
  3. Which direction did heat flow in?

    The thermal energy, or heat, flowed from the hot beaker to the cold beaker.
  4. When did the heat stop flowing? Why did it stop?

    The heat stopped flowing once both beakers were the same temperature. This is because there is no excess thermal energy to transfer to an area with less thermal energy.
  5. What happened to the speed at which the temperature change occurs as the temperatures got closer to equilibrium? Why does this happen?

    The speed of the temperature change slowed down as the beakers got closer to being the same temperature. This is because there is less excess thermal energy to transfer.