Page 4

The Virtual Challenge

Introduce Applet:

Welcome to the EIE Thermodynamics Heat Transfer Exercise applet. Here you will be able to practice the concepts of heat transfer with the heat equation and specific heat.

Make sure the students can access this link: Link
Alternatively, a downloadable copy can be found here: Download

To start, select the materials you would like to test with. There are a number of preselected objects and fluids that can be chosen for the transfer experiment, as well as custom options for further concept exploration. The mystery and sample testing options will be explained shortly.

Be sure to establish the temperature range that you want this thermometer to cover. It is recommended that you choose a range close to the values of your starting temperature so that you can see the full range of motion on the applet’s thermometer.

Select the Run Simulation button to start the experiment. Using your initial values and the heat equation, see if you can calculate the initial specific heat of either the fluid or the object when the other is treated as a known value.

The mystery options allow you to have a chance to test your understanding of specific heat and attempt to calculate the specific heat of an object or fluid with an unknown specific heat. These objects should be tested with the other substance having a known value, wither a preset, custom, or previously determined mystery value.

To check the value of the mystery option, select the substance, and click the Check It button.

The sample-testing mode can be selected from the dropdown for the substance you want to test in a physical experiment. Note that only one substance can be in sample testing mode at a time. The temperature display will be replaced with an input field for you to insert the final temperature of the experimental system. Once that is filled out, and all initial values are inputted to the values of your experiment, you can use the Check It button to calculate the experimental specific heat of your sample.

For further exploration, there is a table of values that can be opened with the button at the bottom of the page and used to classify the mystery sample substances.

On to page 5!