An Experiment to Find the Amount of Heat Energy Released When 1g of Candle Wax Burns - page 3
Keywords: An Experiment to Find the Amount of Heat Energy Released When 1g of Candle Wax Burns Chemistry GCSE
By slashwk on 23/11/2006 17:19:06
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 3 of 3 pages: 1 2 3
candle wax. We can safely say that there is ≈21kJ per gram of candle wax.
Problems Encountered
The main problem which was encountered was the fact that we couldn’t verify how accurate and reliable the results produced by other groups were. We didn’t know how exactly they had carried out the experiment, and whether they’d observed the same precautions as us in order to produce the most accurate results. Next time we should check their technique so that we can decide for ourselves whether their results are worth using.
Errors and Improvements
Although we carried out the experiment with virtually no flaws, our results are still not 100% accurate. The main reason for this is the fact that the energy interchange between the candle wax and the water in the beaker was not 100% efficient. To produce more accurate results, we could have used a calorimeter. A calorimeter is a device which is specifically used to measure thermal quantity such as specific heat capacity or latent heat capacity. There are many forms of calorimeter, but the simplest is a thermometer attached to an insulated container. There are more complex and accurate calorimeters, but they tend to be expensive.
Last 5 comments…
There have been no comments posted for this article, but you need to register if you want to be the first!