Measuring specific latent heat

 We did an experiment to measure the specific latent heat of fusion, which means the change of state from solid to liquid. We packed a glass funnel with ice and inserted an electric heater. We measured the voltage and the current and caught the melt water in a beaker. We ran the experiment for 900 seconds (15 minutes). We calculated the energy put in by the heater using the formula E=ItV. we measured the mass of the melt water and calculated the specific latent heat by doing E/mass in kg. Specific latent heat is measured in joules per kilogram.

One problem is that the warmth of the air in the room can melt water too. To find out how big an effect that is, a second funnel should be packed with ice but the heater not turned on. The mass of melt water from this can be subtracted from the mass from the main experiment. We could call this part of the experiment the CONTROL.