What the simulation is
A 3D interactive of the AQA GCSE required practical for specific heat capacity of a metal, built in Three.js and styled in the ClassAdapt house style with the full Adapt accessibility suite. Students assemble the apparatus step by step, run a ten-minute heating experiment, then calculate c from their own readings.
The procedure runs through eight guided steps: drag the 1 kg block onto the heatproof mat, wrap the foam lagging fully round the sides, add three drops of water to the small hole, seat the thermometer, seat the immersion heater in the large hole, wire the joulemeter into the circuit, switch on the power and stopwatch together, then record temperature and energy every minute. The ten readings build a live results table, and at the end a calculation board walks through ΔE = m × c × Δθ rearranged to c = ΔE ÷ (m × Δθ), compares the student’s value to the accepted one, and — if technique was poor — explains why the value came out high.
The physics is faithful to the AQA data book: same rig for both metals (1 kg, 12 V × 4.0 A = 48 W, 600 s → 28,800 J), so the only variable that changes is the temperature rise. Aluminium (c = 900) rises 32 °C to 52 °C; copper (c = 385) rises about 75 °C to ~95 °C. The 1 kg copper block is rendered smaller than the aluminium one because copper is far denser — a nice incidental link to density. An error model rewards good technique: skimp on lagging, water, or seating the heater and some energy escapes the block, the measured Δθ falls, and the calculated c comes out too high — exactly as in a real lab.
Suggested class activity — “Same energy, different rise”
A 50–60 minute lesson framed as a fair-test investigation.
Open with the hook question on the board: if we put the same amount of energy into a block of aluminium and a block of copper, will they reach the same temperature? Take a quick vote before anyone touches the sim — most will guess “yes,” which sets up the surprise.
Students then run aluminium first, following the eight steps and copying the minute-by-minute table onto a paper results sheet, then calculating c by hand and checking it against the board. Next they reset, switch the toggle to copper, and run it again with everything else identical. The learning lands when they line up the two tables: same energy in, but copper more than doubles the temperature rise — because it stores less energy per degree. Close by revisiting the vote and drawing out the definition of specific heat capacity in their own words.
To build it out: a lower-support version can use the buttons-only “perfect technique” mode and a part-filled results table; an extension task asks students to deliberately lag poorly, predict what happens to their calculated c, then test it and explain the discrepancy using the idea of energy lost to the surroundings. A plenary exit question: “A student’s copper result came out as 470 J/kg°C instead of 385 — give two reasons why, and say which direction each error pushes the answer.”
If you’d like, I can turn this into a printable worksheet with the results tables, calculation boxes, and mark scheme as a Word doc.
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