I've got the specific heat of a metal for three trials.

t1= .186 j/gdegrees C
t2= .178 j/gdegrees C
t3=.128j/gdegrees C

the mean of the specific heat is .164 j/gdegrees C

we're supposed to find which metal it is from a "CRC" handbook. I've tried and can't find any metal with this specific heat. help.

1 answer

I don't know what to tell you. Your precision is not good enough for you to have confidence in the average. If you have the time I would see if I could redo the experiment. If you are under duress for time, I would look in two places; i.e., for 0.128 and for the average of the other two or 0.182. USUALLY, the metals are iron, lead, aluminum, etc. We did one years ago where the prof had made his own unknowns by making alloys of lead and other metals so they were not pure. If yours is pure, you should find it in a handbook if your experiment was conducted properly.