Calorimetry Lab Report

Words: 1025
Pages: 5

Heat is a form of energy. Thermodynamics is the term used to identify the science of energy, including how it is transformed and how it is used. This scientific term is very broad and extensive, due to the different types of relations energy has in the universe. For this scientific experiment, there will be a specific focus on calorimetry. Often confused with temperature, calorimetry is the calculation of energy transferred from a source to another [5]. Calorimetry is calculated using a formula, where heat (often measured in calories and represented by "q") is equal to mass (m) multiplied by specific heat (c) and the change in temperature (∆T). This is commonly expressed as q = mc(∆T) [2]. In our experiment, we will be using this equation to find the specific heat of apple juice, orange juice, and water.
Temperature is an essential factor in calorimetry as it is tied very closely with energy. Temperature does not only measure heat; it also measures
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There are many types of calorimeters, including the bomb calorimeter, open air calorimeter, and coffee cup calorimeter. A bomb calorimeter consists of a food chamber filled with oxygen that is surrounded by a water chamber, air space, and insulation on the outside. This calorimeter has the highest accuracy because it forces thermal energy to pass through the water chamber and prevents the surrounding air from affecting the movement of energy. When food is ignited in the food chamber, the calories turn into light energy and thermal energy. The light energy that results does not affect the water, but the thermal energy does, and therefore will raise the temperature of the water. As a result, not all of the calories can be calculated, and there is a lot of pressure inside the calorimeter that can cause it to explode [1]. Without proper execution, the bomb calorimeter can be very dangerous; therefore we are unable to use it for our experiment despite its high