Experiment 107: Latent Heat of Fusion

Analysis

As discussed in the last experiment, the concepts of heat and specific

heat were discussed and how these topics are important in the

understanding of thermodynamics. And now, we will be discussing about

Latent heat of fusion which we will be the main subject matter of the

experiment. The concept and term of latent heat of fusion may be familiar

because it is not only applicable in Physics, but also in Chemistry, in

particular to thermochemistry.

Recalling the topics that have already been discussed in the previous

experiment, heat is simply referred to as the energy transferred from one

body or substance to another in physical contact with each other as the

result of a difference in temperature, but to fully grasp and understand the

concept of heat, we must first observe and analyze how it works and how it

is applied to our surroundings. Furthermore, we should also study the

relationship between heat and other forms of energy, particularly how

thermal energy is converted to and from other forms of energy and how it

affects matter, to cut things short, the study of thermodynamics. Further

studying the concept of thermodynamics is important in order for us to

understand Latent Heat.

Calorimetry is the science associated with determining the changes

in energy of a system by measuring the heat exchanged with the

surroundings. In physics class (and for some, in chemistry class),

calorimetry labs are frequently performed in order to determine the heat

of reaction or the heat of fusion or the heat of dissolution or even the

specific heat capacity of a metal. These types of labs are rather popular

because the equipment is relatively inexpensive, and the measurements

are usually straightforward. In such labs, a calorimeter is used. A

calorimeter is a device used to measure the quantity of heat transferred

to or from an object. Most students likely do not remember using such a

fancy piece of equipment known as a calorimeter. Fear not; the reason for

the lack of memory is not a sign of early Alzheimer's. Rather, it is

because the calorimeter used in high school science labs is more

commonly referred to as a Styrofoam cup. It is a coffee cup calorimeter -

usually filled with water. The more sophisticated cases include a lid on

the cup with an inserted thermometer and maybe even a stirrer.

We learned that water will change its temperature when it gains or

loses energy. And in fact, the quantity of energy gained or lost is given

by the equation.

Q = m water • Cwater • ΔTwater

Where Cwater is 4.18 J/g/°C. So, if the mass of water and the temperature

change of the water in the coffee cup calorimeter can be measured, the

quantity of energy gained or lost by the water can be calculated.

The assumption behind the science of calorimetry is that the energy

gained or lost by the water is equal to the energy lost or gained by the

object under study. So, if an attempt is being made to determine the

specific heat of fusion of ice using a coffee cup calorimeter, then the

assumption is that the energy gained by the ice when melting is equal to

the energy lost by the surrounding water. It is assumed that there is a

heat exchange between the ice and the water in the cup and that no

other objects are involved in the heat exchanged.

Q ice = - Q surroundings = - Q calorimeter

This statement could be placed in equation form as the role of the

Styrofoam in a coffee cup calorimeter is that it reduces the amount of

heat exchange between the water in the coffee cup and the surrounding

air. The value of a lid on the coffee cup is that it also reduces the amount

of heat exchange between the water and the surrounding air. The more

that these other heat exchanges are reduced, the more true that the

above mathematical equation will be. Any error analysis of a calorimetry

experiment must take into consideration the flow of heat from system to

calorimeter to other parts of the surroundings. And any design of a

calorimeter experiment must give attention to reducing the exchanges of

heat between the calorimeter contents and the surroundings

Now that we’ve recalled the topics from the previous experiment,

we can now discuss about Latent Heat. In thermochemistry, the latent of

heat of fusion is described as the chemical reaction of solid to liquid, or

the phase change called melting. To start, the concept of temperature is

rooted in qualitative ideas of “hot” and “cold” based on our sense of

touch. A body that feels hot usually has a higher temperature than a

similar body that feels cold. The idea may be vague, and the senses can

be deceived, but many properties of matter that we can measure depend

on temperature. The length of a metal rod, steam pressure in a boiler,

the ability of a wire to conduct an electric current, and the color of a very
hot glowing object-these all depend on temperature. Temperature is also

related to the kinetic energies of the molecules of a material. In general,

this relationship is complex, but it will be further discussed later on. It is

important to understand, however, that temperature and heat can be

defined independently of any detailed molecular picture. We will be

using the macroscopic definition of temperature. To use temperature as

a measure of hotness or coldness, we need to construct a temperature

scale. In order to do this, we can use any measurable property of a

system that varies with its “hotness” or “coldness”.

Figure 1. Two Devices for Measuring Temperature

In Figure 1, a familiar system is shown that is used to measure

temperature. When the system becomes hotter, the colored liquid

expands and rises in the tube, and the value of L increases. Another
simple system is a quantity of a gas in a constant-volume container, as

shown in Figure 1. The pressure p increases or decreases as the gas

becomes hotter or colder. A third example is the electrical resistance R of

a conducting wire, which also varies when the wire becomes hotter or

colder. Each of these properties gives us a number that varies with

hotness and coldness, so each property can be used to make a

thermometer.

To measure the temperature of a body, you place the thermometer

in contact with the body. If you want to know the temperature of a cup

of coffee, you stick the thermometer in the coffee; as the two interact, the

thermometer becomes hotter and the coffee cools off a little. After the

thermometer settles down to a steady value, you read the temperature.

At this point, the system has reached an equilibrium condition, called

thermal equilibrium, in which the interaction between the thermometer

and the coffee causes no further change in the system. If two systems are

separated by an insulating material or insulator such as wood, plastic

foam, or fiberglass, they influence each other more slowly. An ideal

insulator is a material that permits no interaction at all between the two

systems. It prevents the systems from attaining thermal equilibrium if

they aren’t in thermal equilibrium at the start.

Figure 2. The Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics

An important concept in thermodynamics is the idea of the laws of

thermodynamics and among the three laws, the fundamental law that

all three revolves around is the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics. Based

on Figure 2, it states that if C is initially in thermal equilibrium with both

A and B, then A and B are also in thermal equilibrium with each other.

In addition, it also proves that two systems are in thermal equilibrium if

and only if they have the same temperature. There are three temperature

scales that can be used in the discussion of thermodynamics; however,

in this experiment, we will only be using the Celsius scale.

 Now, let’s give focus on the concept of latent heat of fusion. In

discussing the idea of latent heat of fusion, let us recall the first law of

thermodynamics, or also known as law of enthalpy. The first law of

thermodynamics states that when heat Q is added to a system while the

system does work W, the internal energy U changes by an amount equal

to Q – W, as shown in Equation 1. And, this law can be expressed for an

infinitesimal process, Equation 2. The internal energy of any

thermodynamic system depends only on its state. The change in internal

energy in any process depends only on the initial and final states, not on

the path. In addition, the internal energy of an isolated system is

constant, as shown in Figure 3.

1
2
 Figure 3. Thermodynamic Processes Illustrating the Law of Enthalpy

Using the key concepts on the first law of thermodynamics, we can

define the latent heat of fusion in terms of enthalpy. Latent heat of

fusion, also known as enthalpy of fusion, is the change in enthalpy of a

substance when a specified amount of that substance is heated to change

its state from solid state to liquid state. The temperature at which this

happens is known as the melting point of that substance. Since when a

substance is heated to change its state, its temperature remains constant

until the state is change. Because of this, there no change in temperature

is observed even when heat is applied to the system; thus, it involves the

concept of enthalpy. In general, the value of the enthalpy of fusion is

positive.

Moving on to the experiment, the main objective is divided into

two: (1) To use the principles of calorimetry, specifically the Law of Heat

Exchange, when combining objects with different temperatures, and (2)

to use the Law of Heat Exchange in determining the specific heat of

solid metal.

3
0
0
40
0
0
The theory presented in the experiment is given by defining 0 the
0
Law of Heat Exchange. Calorimetry is a method of determining 0 an
0
unknown heat quantity using a calorimeter. It utilizes the Law 0of Heat
0
Exchange. When two or more substances are mixed together 0using a
0
calorimeter, heat flows from hotter to colder substance. Then, 0 the
0
0
algebraic sum of heat quantity released or lost by the hotter substance at

higher temperature and the heat quantity absorbed or gained by the

substance at lower temperature must be zero, as shown in Equation 3

and the equation representing the latent heat of fusion is given by

Equation 4.

The material used in the experiment were a beaker, an electric

stove, an extension cord, a thermometer, a calorimeter with stirrer, ice,

and a digital weighing scale. Refer to Figure 4 for the materials used in

the experiment. The aim to use the principles of calorimetry, specifically

the Law of Heat Exchange, when combining objects in different

temperature in determining the latent heat of fusion of ice.

The materials needed are:

1 pc beaker

1 pc extension cord

1 pc thermometer

1 set calorimeter with stirrer

1 pc digital weighing scale

Ice
 Figure 4. Materials for the Experiment

It is important to handle the materials that will used in the

experiment with utmost care and caution. Especially, the beaker and the

thermometer which is highly fragile and will most likely to break easily

when not used carefully. Furthermore, we also made precaution on the

electric stove as it may burn certain materials and trigger the smoke alarm

inside the laboratory. With this in mind, we continue to proceed on

conducting the experiment.

 The procedures of this experiment is similar to the previous one.

Using the same calorimeter from the previous experiment, record the mass

of calorimeter as mc. Then, fill the inner vessel of the calorimeter with hot

water half-full and weigh to measure the mass of water by subtracting the

mass of calorimeter and record it as, mw. Afterwards, prepare the set-up

by putting the inner vessel of the calorimeter into the outer vessel, and put

the cover with the stirrer. Followed by inserting the thermometer through

the hole of the cover and getting its reading and recording it as the initial

temperature of water and

calorimeter, denoted as tw and

t c, respectively. Wipe-off the moist

of the ice and place it in the

prepared calorimeter. Stir

gently and wait for all the ice to be

melted.
 Get the thermometer and record the temperature as the final

temperature of the mixture, tmix. Reweigh the mixture and compute for the

mass of ice. Formulate the equation for the experimental value by utilizing

the equations for the latent heat of fusion and law of heat exchange.

Afterwards, calculate the experimental value for latent heat of fusion of ice

and compare it with the accepted value of 80 cal/g by computing for the

percentage of error. In Table 1, the data gathered from the experiment is

shown.

Determining the Latent Heat of Fusion of Ice

Mass of Calorimeter, mc 46.6000 g

Mass of Water, mw 176.3000 g

Mass of Mixture, mmix 248.2000 g

Mass of Ice, mi 25.3000 g

Initial Temperature of ice, ti 0.0000 °C

Initial Temperature of calorimeter, tc 50.0000 °C

Initial Temperature of water, tw 50.0000 °C

Final Temperature of Mixture, tmix 38.4000 °C

Experimental Latent Heat of Fusion,
85.6805 cal/g
LF
Actual Latent Heat of Fusion, LF 80.0000 cal/g

Percentage of Error 7.1000 %

Based on the gathered data, we were able to determine the

experimental latent heat of fusion with only a percentage of error 7.2500 %

from the actual or accepted value of latent heat of fusion of ice, which is 80

cal/g. We were able to determine the experimental value of the latent heat

of fusion of ice by applying the definition of latent heat of fusion given by

Equation 4 into the concept of law of heat exchange that is defined by the

algebraic sum heat loss and heat gained of a system equated to zero. Now,

in the experiment, we assumed the initial temperature of the ice to be 0°C,

since actually getting the temperature of ice is difficult. The assumption

was made based on the property of ice and the concept of thermal

equilibrium, wherein, the solid state and liquid state of water co-exists at

normal pressure.
 In addition, the way of transferring the ice from the container to the

calorimeter was done by manually transferring the ice by hand, so the

system of ice had an initial heat exchange with the system of the hand of

the person transferring the ice. Also, another possible source of error is the

human error in the experiment proper and the computation of the data

given by the experiment. Nevertheless, the resulting latent heat of fusion

for ice is still close to the actual latent heat of fusion with only 7.10%

margin of error.

Conclusion

Based on the gathered data, we were able to determine the latent heat

of fusion of ice yielding a 7.10 percentage error. The results were

satisfactory, since the heat energy lost by the water and calorimeter melts

the ice and warms the water formed by the melting ice from zero to the

final temperature. Thus, the latent heat of fusion of ice will be determined

by using method of mixtures which the quantity of heat lost is equal to the

quantity of heat gained. After the experiment, I realized that when a solid

has reached its melting point, additional heating melts the solid without a
change in temperature. The temperature will remain constant at the

melting point until all of the solid has melted where the amount of heat

needed to melt the solid depends only on the mass of the solid. One of the

practical applications of this experiment is the use of refrigerator. The fan

pulls air through the evaporator fins where it is cooled by conduction and

circulated through the refrigerator by forced convection to cool the food.

That heat from the food is transferred into the refrigerant through the tube

walls from the fins by conduction. That heat plus the heat of compression is

rejected by conduction through condenser tubes and fins into the room and

is carried away by natural convection.