An Investigation into the Enthalpies of the Combustion of Alcohols Essa

An Investigation into the Enthalpies of the Combustion of Alcohols==================================================================PlanningMy aim for this try break is to see the get-up-and-go produced fromdifferent intoxicants. This investigation involves burning alcohol in theair. GCSE Chemistry by B.Earl and L.D.R Wilford says that alcoholsform, another homologous series, with the general formula Cn H2n+1OH. The alcohol reacts with the oxygen in the air to form the crossingswater and carbon dioxide.This answer is exothermic, as disturb is given over out. This is beca hire theamount reactant capacity is to a greater extent than the product energy the difference amongst this is H, therefore some energy has been given out in theform of arouse. The energy is given out when forming the bonds amongthe new water and carbon dioxide molecules. This can be shown in anenergy level diagram Reaction co-ordinate H is the enkindle content,which is the enthalpy, which is disallow in exothermic reactions asthe diagram shows that energy is lost as warmth. henry is definedas the energy of reaction, or the heat energy associated with achemical change. For any reaction carried out directly at a constantpressure, the heat flow is exactly equal to the difference betweenenthalpy of products and that of the reactants.To value the heat energy given off, we must use this energy to heatsomething, this will be water. This is assuming that all the heatproduced by combustion of the alcohol will equal the amount of heatabsorbed by the water (q). So I will measure the amount of energyrequired to do so. This can be worked out by using the formula q =mass x specialized heat capacity x temperature rise or q = MCH. Where qis the quantity of heat. The item heat capacity is the amount ofenergy required to heat the substance, and is calculated using theformula q =energy supplied/ Mass x Temperature, where q is theenthalpy, c is the specific heat capacity and H is the temperatu rerise. I chose to use water as it is safe, easily obtainable, and has aconstant, reliable specific heat capacity of 4.2J/C.The bonds which ar made in a exothermic reaction are forces of standoff between the atoms or ions in a substance. These can be of 2 types covalent, in which the atoms share electrons. Examples ofthis are water and carbon dioxide, whi... ...lowtemperature reading to heat the 100cm3 of water.The procedure of the taste was good enough of go backing out theenergy gained from the individual alcohols, but changes could havebeen made to make the reliability of the results to a greater extent accurate. Thiscould have been done by using a better and more accurate thermometer,such as an electric thermometer, which have gave me a a good deal more pinpoint set of results.If I were to do this experiment again I would make a number ofimprovements or changes, I could use a Bomb Calorimeter whichsubmerges the reaction inside an insulated container of water. Anelectrical h eating device starts the reaction inside a sealed reactionwatercraft and the temperature rise of the water which surrounds it ismeasured. Bomb calorimeters are often used to find the calorific valueof foods.Looking at the experiment I did I thought we could have extended theresults we achieved by using different firing lengths, this would havetold us how much the alcohol uses its energy when the flame isincreased. I could have also changed the amount of water in the coppercalorimeter, or even change the concentration of alcohol to see theeffect.