Palomares, Camille Kate S.

13 N
Experiment no. 6: Heat of Formation of NaCl Date: 06 July 2015

Abstract
The following experiment was conducted to study and understand enthalpy and the first law
of thermodynamics. Aside from that, the experiment also aimed to compute for the heat of
reaction of an acid-base reaction between NaOH and HCl and determine the heat of
formation of solid NaCl through calorimetry. Analysis of data shows that the both the heat of
reaction and heat of formation are negative, indicating a release of heat from the system to
surroundings; hence, it is an exothermic reaction. At the end of the experiment, both
enthalpies were determined and the possible source of error was identified.

Introduction

A neutralization (acid-base) reaction is a type of reaction in which the H+ ion of the acid and
OH- ion of the base combines to form water, while the remaining ions form a salt. This
experiment makes use of a neutralization reaction between a strong acid, HCl, and a strong
base, NaOH. The heat released by this reaction is then measured by calorimetry.

A calorimeter is a device used to measure heat absorbed or released by a chemical reaction.

This experiment makes use of a coffee-cup calorimeter, which is very helpful in measuring
the heat of a neutralization reaction.

In this kind of setup, the solution to be added inside is the system and the calorimeter is
considered as the surroundings. A styrofoam cup is used because it isolates the system and
any kind of heat produced as a reaction occurs. This heat produced is then called the enthalpy
of reaction, denoted by H rxn , which can be measured because of the speific heat
capacity.
Specific heat capacity, usually denoted by J g -1 1 , is defined as the amount of heat
required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by a degree Celsius. (1) (AtQ 2)
Mathematically, this can be translated into the following equation,

q sol n=( mC T )so l n=qrxn

' '

where q is heat of the solution, m is mass of solution, c is specific heat capacity of a

substance, and T is the change in temperature of the reaction.

Meanwhile, the first law of thermodynamics can help us show the enthalpy of formation of
solid NaCl in the second part of the experiment. This law, also known as the Hess law, states
that the standard enthalpy of an overall reaction is the sum of the individual reactions that
subdivide a reaction. (2) This implies that the heat of reaction can be obtained by subtracting
the heat of formation of the reactants from the heat of formation of the products. (AtQ 4)
Mathematically, this can be translated into the following equation,

Hf = n Hf n Hf
products reactants

Method

For Part A, we obtained 75 mL of 1M solutions of NaOH and HCl and placed on two
calorimeters. After obtaining their initial temperatures, HCl was mixed into NaOH with
constant stirring for one minute. For Part B, we got the first calorimeter and added 150 mL of
distilled water then got its weight. After which, 4.38 g of solid NaCl was added to it and
mixed until the solids were completely dissolved. For both parts, the final temperatures were
measured and the procedure was repeated to get two trials.

Results

Table 1. Data gathered from the experiment

TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2
Balanced chemical equation NaOH (aq )+ HCl (aq) NaCl(aq) + H 2 O(l)
weight of setup 129.46 g
initial temperature of NaOH 32 32
initial temperature of HCl 32 32
PART A
final temperature of NaOH 36.5 36.5
T rxn 4.5 4.5
weight of setup + solution 279.85 g 279.79 g
weight of solution 150.39 g 150.33 g
Balanced chemical equation NaCl (aq) NaCl(s )
initial temperature of H2O 31 31
PART B
weight of setup + H2O 276.46 g 276.56 g
final temperature of H2O 30.5 30.5
Table 2. Summary of Results
TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2
qsoln 2828 J 2827 J
PART A average qsoln 2828 J
H rxn -37.7 kJ mol-1
mrxn 151.38 g 151.48 g
qrxn 316 J 314 J
PART B
average qrxn 315 J
Enthalpy of dissolution ( H f -4.20 kJ mol-1

Discussion

Based on Table 2, we can see that the average specific heat capacity of the solution from two
trials performed is 2828 J. This means that 2828 J of heat was absorbed by water. Moreover,
this also means that there was heat released in the reaction between NaOH and HCl which is
why the heat of the reaction is negative, denoting the liberation of heat. Therefore, the
enthalpy of reaction is obtained by dividing the heat of reaction over the moles of the limiting
reagent. However, in this case, equal amounts of NaOH and HCl were added and the
balanced chemical equation shows a 1:1 molar ratio. This in turn, gave an obtained enthalpy
of reaction of -37.7 kJ mol-1.

For part B, we can see Hess Law at work. To better show how this is illustrated, let us
consider the reactions used in this experiment:

NaOH (aq )+ HCl (aq) NaCl( aq) + H 2 O( l)

NaCl(aq) NaCl(s )

NaOH (aq ) + HCl (aq) NaCl(s) + H 2 O(l)

Since this is an neutralization reaction, we can rewrite this into total and net ionic equations,
+
+H (aq )
NaCl( s) +OH ( aq)
Total ionic equation: ++Cl( aq )
+H (aq )
++OH (aq )
Na( aq)
NaCl( s)

Net ionic equation: + +Cl( aq)
Na ( aq )

We can use the equation in the introduction to determine the theoretical enthalpy of formation
of solid NaCl, which when computed, would yield -3.87 kJ mol -1. With an actual yield of
-4.20 kJ mol-1, the percent error amounts to 8.53%. The source of error for this experiment
may come from an error in the measurement of the final temperature. (AtQ 1) Some of the
heat can escape from the lid of the calorimeter, which explains why the lid should be kept in
place. (AtQ 3)

Had a higher concentration of NaOH and HCl was used, the results expected would yield a
lower enthalpy because enthalpy is dependent on the moles of the substance needed given
that it is a state function. If solid NaOH was used instead of the aqueous one, it would
generate more heat because the solid has to dissolve first and that releases heat already. The
process of neutralization also generates more heat and adds to the initial heat from
dissolution. (AtQ 5).

Sample Calculations

PART A
q sol n=( mC T )so l n
' '

'
so l n= q rxn
'
so l n=q rxn q
q
qrxn
H rxn=
mol H 2 O

J
(
Example from Trial 1: q sol n=( 150.39 g ) 4.18
'
g )
( 4.5 )=2828 J

q rxn=2828 J

1mol
75 ml HCl( 1000 mL )
=0.075 mol HCl

1 mol
75 ml NaOH (
1000 mL )
=0.075 mol NaOH

2828 J 1 kJ kJ
H rxn=
( 0.075 mol NaOH (1 mol H 2 O
1 mol NaOH ) ) ( 10000 )J =37.7 mol

PART B
mrxn=( weight setup+ H 2 Oweight setup ) g+4.38 g
q rxn=( mC T )rxn
qrxn
Hf =
mol NaCl

Example from trial 1: mrxn=( 276.46129.46 ) +4.38=151.38 g

 J
(
q rxn=( 151.38 g ) 4.18
g )
( 31 30.5 )=316 J

315 J 1 kJ kJ
Hf =
1 mol ( 1000 )J =4.20 mol
(
4.38 g
58.44 g )
Conclusions

The objectives were fulfilled at the end of the experiment. The concepts of enthalpy and the
first law of thermodynamics were understood and applied to determine the heat of reaction of
the neutralization reaction between NaOH and HCl as well as the heat of formation of solid
NaCl.

References

(1) Chang, R. Chemistry. Tenth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2010

(2) Atkins, P. de Paula, J. Physical Chemistry. Ninth Edition. Great Britain: Oxford
University Press; 2010