Determination of the enthalpy of combustion of alcohols

Data Collection Amount of water used = 100 cm3 (Assuming 1 cm3 of water weighs 1 g) Mass of water used = 100 g Alcohols used: 1. Methanol 2. Ethanol 3. Propanol 4. Butanol 5. Pentanol Qualitative observations: o The initial temperature for each of the trials was almost the same. o The rise in temperature was very slow. o There was a strong irritating odour. o A thick layer was carbon was formed under the metal can. Methanol (CH3OH) Trial 1 Mass of the burner before heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of the burner after heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of methanol used ( 0.010 g) 194.86g 193.91 g 0.95 g Trial 2 193.94 g 193.07 g 0.87 g 24oC = 297 K 44oC = 317 K Trial 3 193.09 g 192.17 g 0.92 g 298 K 318 K

Initial Temperature 25oC = 298 K ( 0.5 K) Final Temperature ( 0.5 K) 45oC = 318 K

 Ethanol (Values taken from Vanessas trials) (C2H5OH) Trial 1 Mass of the burner before heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of the burner after heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of ethanol used ( 0.010 g) Initial Temperature ( 0.5 K) Final Temperature ( 0.5 K) 191.11 g Trial 2 190.48 g Trial 3 189.73 g

190.48 g 0.63 g 26oC = 299 K 49oC = 322 K

189.73 g 0.75 g 26oC = 299 K 46oC = 319 K

189.31 g 0.42 g 26oC = 299 K 46oC = 319 K

Propanol (C3H7OH) Trial 1 Mass of the burner before heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of the burner after heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of propanol used ( 0.010 g) Initial Temperature ( 0.5 K) Final Temperature ( 0.5 K) 181.07 g 180.45 g 0.62 g 299 K 319 K Trial 2 180.47 g 179.85 g 0.62 g 299 K 319 K Trial 3 179.81 g 179.22 g 0.59 g 299 K 319 K

 Butanol (C4H9OH) Trial 1 Mass of the burner before heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of the burner after heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of butanol used ( 0.010 g) Initial Temperature ( 0.5 K) Final Temperature ( 0.5 K) 68.06 g 67.58 g 0.48 g 297 K 317 K Trial 2 67.60 g 67.11 g 0.49 g 299 K 319 K Trial 2 67.14 g 66.69 g 0.45 g 299 K 319 K

Pentanol (C5H11OH) Trial 1 Mass of the burner before heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of the burner after heating ( 0.005 g) Mass of pentanol used ( 0.010 g) Initial Temperature ( 0.5 K) Final Temperature ( 0.5 K) 81.46 g 81.01 g 0.45 g 298 K 318 K Trial 2 80.97 g 80.61 g 0.36 g 298 K 318 K Trial 3 80.62 g 80.15 g 0.47 g 298 K 318 K

Change in temperature for each trial is 20 K. A measuring cylinder of 100ml was used to pour the water into the metal can. Processing Data: a). Moles of each alcohol used: Methanol: Average mass of methanol used (m)=(0.95+0.87+0.92)/3 = 0.91 g Molar Mass of Methanol (MM)= 12.01+4(1.01)+16 = 32.05 g Number of moles (n) = m/MM = 0.91/32.05 = 0.028 mol Ethanol: m of ethanol=(0.63+0.75+0.42)/3 = 0.60 g MM of ethanol= 2(12.01)+6(1.01)+16= 46.08 g n = m/MM = 0.60/46.08 = 0.013 mol Propanol m of propanol= (0.62+0.62+0.59)/3 = 0.61 g MM of propanol= 3(12.01)+8(1.01)+16) = 60.11 g n = m/MM = 0.61/60.11 = 0.010 mol Butanol m of butanol= (0.48+0.49+0.45)/3 = 0.47 g MM of butanol= 4(12.01)+10(1.01)+16 = 74.14 g n = m/MM = 0.47/74.14= 0.006 mol Pentanol m of pentanol= (0.45+0.36+0.47)/3 = 0.43 g MM of pentanol= 5(12.01)+12(1.01)+16 = 88.17 g n of pentanol = m/MM = 0.43/88.17 = 0.005 mol

b). Energy required from each fuel to change the temperature of water Q=mC = 100x4.18x20 = 8360 J = 8.36 kJ c). Enthalpy of combustion of each alcohol: Methanol 0.028 mol requires 8.36 kJ 1 mole requires = 8.36/0.028 = 298.57 kJ mol-1 Actual value = 726 kJ mol-1 Ethanol 0.013 mol requires 8.36 kJ 1 mole requires = 8.36/0.013 = 643.08 kJ mol-1 Actual value = 1367 kJ mol-1 Propanol 0.010 mol requires 8.36 kJ 1 mole requires = 8.36/0.010 = 836 kJ mol-1 Actual value = 2021 kJ mol-1 Butanol 0.006 requires 8.36 kJ 1 mole requires = 8.36/0.006 = 1393.33 kJ mol-1 Actual value= 2676 kJ mol-1 Pentanol: 0.005 mol requires 8.36 kJ 1 mole requires = 8.36/0.005 = 1672 kJ mol-1 Actual value= 3329 kJ mol-1

Uncertainties in the equipment: In the measuring cylinder = 0.5 ml Percent uncertainty = (0.5/100) x100 = 0.5 %

Uncertainties: Percent error of methanol= (Actual value Experimental value) X 100 Actual Value = (726-298.57)/726 X 100 = 58.9 % Percent error of ethanol= (Actual value-Experimental value) X 100 Actual value = (1367-643.08)/1367 X 100 = 52.9 % Percent error of propanol= (2021-836)/2021 X 100 = 58.9 % Percent error of butanol = (2676-1393.33)/2676 X 100 = 47.9 % Percent error of pentanol = (3329-1672)/3329 x 100 = 49.8 % The overall percent uncertainty is very difficult to calculate because of the fact that most of the heat is lost to the surrounding; there are so many ways and factors through which heat was lost.

Conclusion: In this experiment we are trying to determine the enthalpy of combustion of 5 different alcohols, namely: methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and pentanol. The Heat of Combustion is defined as Heat of Combustion of a substance is the heat liberated when 1 mole of the substance undergoes complete combustion with oxygen at constant pressure (referenced from http://www.ausetute.com.au/heatcomb.html). The heat of combustion is an exothermic reaction, therefore the H is always negative but by definition it is a positive value.

What are alcohols?

"Alcohol" is a generic name for large group of organic chemical compounds. There are many types of alcohols. They all are derivatives of hydrocarbons in which one or more of the hydrogen atoms have been replace by a hydroxyl (-OH) functional group. Hydrocarbons are compounds with contain hydrogen (H) and carbon (C) only. The hydroxyl group imparts particular properties to the radical to which it is attached. Alcohols are named according to the radical to which the OH group is attached. For example if the OH group is attached to the methyl radical CH3 so that the compound is CH3OH, then one has methyl alcohol. If it is attached to the ethyl (C2H5) radical then one has ethyl alcohol (CH3CH2OH) - the alcohol we consume in beverages. The general formula for alcohol is ROH, where R signifies a hydrocarbon radical attached to an -OH group. (Referenced from http://www.chemcases.com/alcohol/alc02.htm). The results we obtained from this experiment are not really reliable as there are huge differences between each of the values. But we did notice a trend while calculating the percent error i.e. the smaller the result, the bigger the percent error.

The uncertainties in the alcohols are between 47 to 60 %. We can thus say that there was room for lots errors during this experiment. Our average percent error was (58.9+52.9+58.9+47.9+49.8)/5 = 53.68%. Evaluation: Error The thermometer was not very accurate. Effect and Significance Solution To use a digital thermometer, that gives a temperature exact to 2 decimal places. To use a bomb calorimeter, where there is constant volume. There is also no

This didnt show us the exact initial and final temperature, thus affecting the value of the change in temperature. There was There were huge loss of heat to percent errors the indicating the surroundings. presence of

Mostly to ensure the warmth of the room.

systematic errors.

loss of heat in this calorimeter