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Investigating The Heat And Heat Transfer

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Introduction:

In day-to-day life it is very common to experience phenomenon’s involving heat or heat transfer. For instance, hand warmers used to warm fingers while skiing and ice packs used to reduce swelling of an injury, involve heat exchange. What is responsible for this heat exchange? Looking at thermochemistry may give an explanation. Thermochemistry is a branch of chemistry focusing on heat. Specifically, it studies heat released or absorbed in a chemical reaction. 1 Reactions releasing heat are referred to as exothermic, while reactions absorbing heat are endothermic. 2

Calorimetry, used in thermochemistry is, “the science associated with determining the changes in energy of a system by measuring the heat exchanged with the surroundings.” 3 Calorimetry is carried out with calorimeters, which measure heat transfer. 3 This experiment uses two types of calorimeters; a homemade, Styrofoam calorimeter, and a market brand calorimeter. This Styrofoam calorimeter is a less complex version of the market calorimeter and is used in some schools to save money. 4 Necessary features for a calorimeter include good insulation and little to no holes reducing heat loss to the surroundings.

The goal for this experiment is to assess the usefulness of a homemade, Styrofoam calorimeter in comparison to a market brand calorimeter when studying the energy and heat associated with chemical reactions such as acid-base and redox reactions. 4

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