PASCO ET-8781 Equivalent of Heat Tube - Manual (Page 6)

Model No. ET-8781 Mechanical Equivalent of Heat Tube
5 ®
Thermal Energy
When the balls strike the aluminum plate, their kinetic energy is converted into thermal
energy, increasing the temperature of the plate and the balls. For a single object, Q=mc ,
but since the balls and the plate have different specific heats, we need to account for each.
Also, there are two identical plates. You cannot remove the bottom plate. It is assumed that
is the same for all of the objects.
Q=[m
b
c
b
+ m
p
c
p
]
Equipment Setup
1. Plug the stereo plug of the Mechanical Equivalent of Heat Tube into a PASPORT
Temperature Sensor or ScienceWorkshop Thermistor Sensor.
2. Plug the Temperature Sensor into a PASPORT computer interface. (Note: If you are using
a ScienceWorkshop interface, plug the Thermistor Sensor into an analog channel of a
ScienceWorkshop computer interface. From the Sensors list, drag the Thermistor icon to
the same channel in the Setup window.
3. Use the Velcro strap to hold the cord against the tube.
4. Click the Start button. Turn the tube upside down and back up again. Repeat several
times. Watch the temperature change in DataStudio. To stop data collection, click the
Stop button.
Note: Do not use the Mechanical Equivalent of Heat Tube in direct sunlight. Using the
tube in direct sunlight will skew your results.
∆T
∆T
∆T
Figure 1: Heat
Tube connected
to a Temperature
Sensor and a
PASPORT
interface
(2)