A student uses the apparatus in Figure 1 to determine the specific heat capacity of water - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 1 - 2018 - Paper 1

1. Add a lid or cover to minimize heat loss during the experiment.
2. Use better insulation, such as a thicker polystyrene cup, to improve efficiency.

Based on the graph in Figure 2, it is reasonable to predict that the temperature of the water will reach approximately 100 °C if the heating continues for an additional minute.

To calculate the thermal energy needed to melt the ice, we use the formula:

$Q = mL$

where:

• $Q$ is the thermal energy (in Joules),
• $m$ is the mass of the ice (in kg), and
• $L$ is the specific latent heat of fusion of ice (in J/kg).

Substituting the values: $Q = 0.380 ext{ kg} \times 3.34 \times 10^5 ext{ J/kg}$

Calculating this gives: $Q \approx 126920 ext{ J} \approx 1.27 \times 10^5 ext{ J}$