The Importance Of Calorimetry

Calorimetry is used to determine the heat transfer between two states or environments caused by chemical and physical changes. Calorimetry is important because it is used to figure out changes in temperature based on how much heat is gained or given by a system in a reaction. Calorimetry is performed in a calorimeter, a closed environment where changes in heat are measured. In this experiment, the metal is the called the system and the water is the surroundings. The metal is heated and then placed into the water. The change in temperature of the metal and the water before and after they are put together can be used to determine the heat given or absorbed by the metal. I hypothesize that the metal will be exothermic, in that heat will leave …show more content…
When plotting the inverse of the atomic weight and the specific heat on a graph it creates a linear progression that is constant. Using the formula of the line, y=25.682x-0.0031, the specific heat of other solids can be estimated. Dulong and Petit 's law is important because it can be used to determine the specific heat of any metal because the atoms of all simple bodies have exactly the same capacity for heat. Heat capacity is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree. Specific heat is the same, but applied to only one gram of the substance2. Also, Dulong and Petit 's law has been used historically to determine the atomic weights of metals. In 1870 Mendeleyeff use the law to derive the correct atomic weights of indium, cerium, and uranium, which were incorrect in books at the …show more content…
A calorimeter is a closed system used to test the transfer of heat from one substance to another within that closed system. If there is not a lid on the calorimeter, the system is not closed and therefore heat energy is able to escape the experiment rather than staying within the system. If I did not use a lid on the calorimetry cup, it is likely that my experimental value for heat transfer will be calculated to be less than the true value because the heat energy escaped to the outside environment. In the data collected from my experiment there is a 24.3% error for specific heat of aluminum and an 11.5% error for the specific heat of nickel. This is partially due to procedural error because the calorimeter cup lid has to be taken off while adding the metal to the calorimeter, this allows heat energy to escape over a few seconds, resulting in a small amount of error in the experiment. The calorimeter cup lid is vital to maintaining a closed system for this