determining the heat of combustion
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 12:35 pm
We did an experiment where we used energy from burning paraffin wax to heat a known volume of water. We used the equation q = - cp(water) x m(water) x ∆T (water)
to calculate the amount of heat transfered to water. The mass of fuel burned was then taken into account to calculate the heat per gram of fuel consumed in the combustion. (∆Hc = Q/m)
The expected value is -41.5 kJ/g, but the result I got is much higher, even though it would be logical for it to be less than the expected value because of heat losses.
I was wondering if this is because I didn't take into consideration the can in which the water was heated?
How could I incorporate the can in the equation q = - cp x m x ∆T to get a more accurate result?
Thank you for helping
to calculate the amount of heat transfered to water. The mass of fuel burned was then taken into account to calculate the heat per gram of fuel consumed in the combustion. (∆Hc = Q/m)
The expected value is -41.5 kJ/g, but the result I got is much higher, even though it would be logical for it to be less than the expected value because of heat losses.
I was wondering if this is because I didn't take into consideration the can in which the water was heated?
How could I incorporate the can in the equation q = - cp x m x ∆T to get a more accurate result?
Thank you for helping