Determination of a Calorimeter Constant and Heat of an Acid/Base Reaction

Experiments No. 2 and 3

Donovan Dicks
Chemistry AP
Mt. Hebron High School
October 23, 27, November 3, 2014

Abstract:
The lab contained two major experiments: one determined a calorimeter constant, and the other
determined the heat of an acid/base reaction. In the first experiment, a calorimeter was made
from a coffee cup, steel wire, and a thermometer. The calorimeter constant was found by
conducting multiple trials of adding hot water to room temperature water already present in the
cup. The data collected allowed the calorimeter constant to be calculated and averaged. Three
different values were collected, and theyre average was 45.7 J/C, however the value that
produced the best result in the second experiment was 58.9 J/C. In the second experiment, the
same calorimeter was used, hence the need to calculate the calorimeter constant. A sample of a
base was added to the calorimeter, and then a sample of an acid was added to the base. The
objective was to calculate the heat of the reaction, q, between the acid and the base. The correct
value for this reaction was -56 KJ/mol, and the closest experimental trial was -49.7 KJ/mol.
Apparatus:

Theory:
The underlying principles in this lab are as follows: heat of a reaction and the calorimeter
constant. The heat of a reaction is determined in the lab by calorimetry. Using the data collected
through calorimetry, the equation q = mcT is used to then calculate the flow of heat in the
reaction. This equation has multiple essential parts. The m represents mass of the substance
being tested, in the case of the first experiment, the mass of all the water in the calorimeter. The
c value represents the specific heat capacity of the substance(s) being tested, in the case of the
first experiment it would be water. The specific heat capacity is the amount of energy in Joules it
takes to raise one gram of the substance one degree Celsius. T represents the change in
temperature in Celsius of the system. Finally, q represents the heat of the reaction, or the flow
of heat, also called the change in enthalpy. This value is measured in J/C. The sign (negative or
positive) of the q value is determined by whether the reaction is exo- or endothermic rather than
the calculations.
The second essential piece of theory present in this lab is called the calorimeter constant.
A calorimeter is a device used to calculate the heat of a reaction, however during this reaction,
some of the heat can be absorbed by the pieces of the calorimeter or through any openings. The
calorimeter can include many parts that could absorb heat or allow it to escape, namely (in this
experiment) the stirring wire, thermometer, the cup itself, and the openings present on the lid.
The calorimeter constant is a calculated number that represents the portion of heat flow from a
reaction that enters the apparatus rather than the water in the cup. This constant accounts for all
parts of the apparatus that could absorb heat or allow it to escape, and must be factored in to all
calculations involving reactions in the calorimeter. The constant is represented mathematically as
CT and appears in the equation like this: q = mcT + CT.
Procedure:
Determination of a Calorimeter Constant
Build your calorimeter. The calorimeter will require two coffee cups, one placed inside the other.
Then, place a lid on the top of the cup. Cut a piece of steel wire; this will be used as the stirring
rod. Bend the wire in a way so that is effective at stirring the water but does not make contact
with the sides of the cups. Insert the other end of the wire into the opening in the lid where one
would normally drink from. Place a rubber stopper onto a thermometer so that it can be easily
read but will allow enough of the thermometer to be inside the calorimeter. Poke a hole in the lid
of the cup with a push-pin, and then insert the thermometer so that the stopper rests on the lid.
After the calorimeter has been made, weigh the entire apparatus. Then, add distilled water to the
cup. Weigh the apparatus again with the tap water inside. Allow a beaker of water to be heated on
the hot plate during this process. Take the temperature of the water in the calorimeter until it is
constant. Then, measure the temperature of the water being heated. Immediately after this, add
an equal amount of hot water to the water already in the calorimeter. Close the lid and stir the
water, taking the temperature every twenty seconds. After at least two minutes of good data
collection, weigh the calorimeter with both water samples in it. Then, remove the water and
repeat the process for more trials. The data collected here will be used to calculate the
calorimeter constant.
Heat of Acid/Base Reactions
Collect a sample of a base (NaOH) and an acid (HCl) in separate beakers. Add the base to the
calorimeter (the same one used in the previous experiment). Weigh the apparatus with the base in

it. Then record the temperature of the base. Add the acid to the calorimeter, and measure the
temperature every twenty seconds. After two minutes of good data collection, weigh the
apparatus with both the base and acid. Then empty the solution from the calorimeter and repeat
the process for more trials.
Data:
Calorimeter Constant
Calorimete Calorimeter (w/ hot

Hot water

Cold Water

Hot

Cold

r (Empty,

+ cold water, g)

(g)

(g)

water

water

Trial

g)
60.37 .01

380.58 .01

145.36 .01

174.85 .01

(C)
81.8 .1

(C)
21.2 .1

1
Trial

60.37 .01

268.17 .01

89.22 .01

118.58 .01

91.8 .1

21.6 .1

2
Trial

60.37 .01

254.78 .01

88.79 .01

105.62 .01

90.4 .1

21.9 .1

3
Trial 1
Time 1 Temp
Temp .1
(C)
(s)
(C)
0
21.2
20
46.8
40
47.5
60
47.9
80
47.9
100
47.8
120
47.6
140
47.5
160
47.3
Time 1
(s)
0
21.6
20
47.6
40
49.8
60
49.9
80
49.9
100
49.8
120
49.8
140
49.6

Trial 2

Trial 3
Time 1
(s)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120

Temp
(C)
21.6
51.2
51.8
51.7
51.6
51.4
51.3

Acid/Base Reaction
Acid (g)
Trial 1
135.66 .01
Trial 2
129.82 .01
Trial 1
Time 1
(s)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Time 1
(s)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120

Trial 2
Temp
Temp
(C)
(C)
21.3
30.9
31.8
31.9
31.8
31.8
31.7

21.8
31.8
32.9
32.9
32.9
32.9
32.9

Calculations:
Calorimeter Constant
Trial 2:

Base (g)
123.43 .01
119.61 .01

Temperature (C)
21.3 .1
21.8 .1

Acid/Base
Trial 2:

Conclusion:
The lab had two original purposes: to find a calorimeter constant and determine the heat of an
acid/base reaction. The first purpose led into the second. A calorimeter was built and tested three
times to determine an accurate constant for the heat absorbed by the apparatus. Without this
calculation, the calculations for the acid/base reaction would have been drastically different.
After the calorimeter constant was evaluated, the acid/base reaction was conducted. The
calorimeter constant has no correct value as each calorimeter is made slightly differently and the
experiments results were not very consistent. However, when compared to the class average of
54.67 J/C (this value is adjusted to remove 120.6 J/C as an outlier), the calorimeter constant of
58.9 J/C is only 7.4% different. This suggests that while each calorimeter would produce a
different constant, the class all together was fairly close in their values. Using this constant, the
calculated heat of the acid/base reaction was -49.7 KJ/mol. The sign is negative here because the
reaction gave off heat, making it exothermic. This value can be compared to the correct heat of
formation value of -56 KJ/mol based on calculations using Hesss law. This calculation is as
follows:

Compared to this correct value, the experimental value produces an 11.3% error. This level of
error can be explained by a number of things. It is very possible that the calorimeter constant is
not accurate, which would greatly affect the heat calculations. This was confirmed in the first
experiment as each trial produced very different results, and thus the calorimeter constant was
inconsistent and may have been inaccurate enough to affect later calculations. The calorimeter
constant could have been inconsistent for many reasons, from inaccurate measurements of the
mass of the water to incorrect temperature measurements. These measurements could have
caused the calorimeter constant to be either too high or too low, however, from the calculations,
it appears that the constant was too low. The mass of the acid/base solution could have also been
measured incorrectly, which could make the final result for the heat either too high or too low. In
this case, the final result was too low. In conclusion, the lab was fairly accurate, but the results
could have been better with a better system. To improve the experiment, a better, more consistent
and reliable calorimeter would have to be used or constructed from different materials. The
calorimeter constant is the single number with the largest reason for error. The only way to truly
allow for more accurate data is to alter the calorimeter.