Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
10. What were some sources of error in this experiment that could have
increased your percent error?
Data Table 2
Fuel 1
________________
Fuel 2
________________
Fuel 3
________________
Molecular formula
M mass
Mass used
Moles of fuel used
(mass/M mass)
Temperature
change
Heat of reaction
Heat in kJ
Heat per mol
What's Going On?
When energy is released as heat, it is transferred to the surrounding
environment. In this experiment, combustion of each fuel increased the
temperature of the water in the beaker above the spirit burner. Therefore,
the mass of the water, its temperature change, and its specific heat
could be used to calculate the heat of the reaction. For the calculations
in this laboratory, it was assumed that all of the heat released from the
fuels was transferred to the water. However, even though the apparatus
was insulated, it is inevitable that some heat was lost to the outside
environment. Therefore, the calculated heat of combustion for each
substance was most likely lower than the actual value.
Bonds between atoms contain energy that is released when those bonds
are broken. The heat released per mole of a substance largely depends
