The Fundamentals of Calorimetry

Student Name

  • Date
  • Purpose
  • Procedure
  • Experimental Data

Table 1

Time

(min)

Trial 1

Temp. °C

Trial 2

Temp. °C

1    
2    
3    
4    
5    
6    
7    
8    
9    
10    

Insert graph of the data from Data Table 1, plotting temperature vs. time, and use the Y intercept to find the temperature at time 0 when the two volumes of water are mixed.

 

Table 2

  Trial 1 (include units) Trial 2 (include units) Calculations (for Trial 1)
Initial temperature of cold water      
Initial temperature of warm water      
Temperature at time 0 from graph, T0      
Heat lost by hot water      
Heat gained by cold water      
Heat gained by calorimeter      
Temperature change of calorimeter      
Heat capacity of calorimeter      
Average Heat capacity of calorimeter    

 

Table  3

Report data with correct units.  Show calculations below the table

  5g CaCl2 10g

CaCl2

15g

CaCl2

5g

NH4Cl

10g

NH4Cl

15g

NH4Cl

Mass of water

 

           
Mass of salt

 

           
Moles of salt

 

           
Initial Temperature

 

           
Final Temperature

 

           
Change in Temperature            
Heat released/absorbed by water            
Heat released/absorbed by the calorimeter            
Enthalpy of solution

 

           
Molar Enthalpy of solution            
Average molar enthalpy of solution    

Show calculations for first column:

  • Moles of salt
  • Heat released/absorbed by the solution
  • Heat released/absorbed by the calorimeter
  • Enthalpy of solution (J)
  • Enthalpy of solution (kJ)
  • Molar Enthalpy of solution
  • Average molar enthalpy of solution

Insert graphs of ΔT vs. grams of salt for NH4Cl

 

Lab Questions

  1. What sort of relationship exists between the temperature change and the mass of the salt dissolved? Explain your answer.
  2. The actual molar enthalpy of solution for calcium chloride is -81.3 kJ/mol, whereas the molar enthalpy of solution of ammonium chloride is 14.8 kJ/mol. Calculate the percent error of your results. Show the calculations.
  3. Use the value of enthalpy you determined for CaCl2 to calculate what quantity of salt will be needed to make a chemical hot pack. Assume using 100 g (100 mL) of water and changing the temperature from 25 °C to 60 °C. Show all calculations.
  4. Use the graph you drew for NH4Cl to determine the amount of salt needed to make a chemical cold pack. Assume using 100 g (100 mL) of water. The temperature should go down to 3.0 °C from a room temperature of 25 °C. Show all calculations.
  5. Suggest practical ways in which the calorimeter or lab protocol could be improved to decrease percent errors.