Hand Warmer Project

By: Katie, Mariana, Olivia, and

Sally
Objective
To make a hand warmer that has a:

Temperature increase of 20

Have a volume of around 50 mL

Costs as little as possible to make

Uses chemicals that are safe

Is as environmentally friendly as possible

What is a hand warmer?
A hand warmer is a small packet like object that produces heat which is used
to warm up cold hands. Our hand warmers are similar in design to that of
many poppable, instant and one-time use ice pack. Both products are
activated when a small quantity of water is released and allowed to mix with a
salt. When the water and salt mix they create a chemical reaction that either
produces heat or loses heat giving off a cold sensation depending on the
product. We made hand warmers so our product produces heat.
We began our project by asking:
Using our classroom skills and supplies, is it possible to make a working
hand warmer?

What type of salt should we use?

How much salt should we use in each hand warmer?

How can we make an effective, safe, and environmentally friendly hand

warmer while still being safe?

How much does it cost to produce 100 hand warmers?

How much profit can we reasonably make?

The Science Behind the Hand Warmer
Breaking bonds absorb energy from its surroundings, while forming new
bonds and releasing energy to the surroundings(exergonic reaction)

When an ionic solid dissolves in water, ionic bonds between cations and
anions and hydrogen bonds between water molecules break, and new
attractions are formed.
Why we chose CaCl2

We decided to use CaCl2

because it had the highest
temperature change
Cost Efficiency
The materials we used included:

Impact heat sealer

Ziploc sandwich bags
Novato tap water (H2O)
Calcium Chloride (CaCl2)
Aluminum foil
Dropcloth

We found that CaCl2 has a cost of $6.55 per 500g. We need 700_g of CaCl2
to make 100 hand warmers which would cost $9.17. The total cost of
producing 100 hand warmers is $43.59
The Math
Calorimeter Constant:
44J/C*
Amount of CaCl2 per one
hand warmer: 7.6 g
For 100 handwarmers: 760 g
of CaCl2

We will be passing around a

poster with all the math :)
Our Hand Warmer
30mL H2O per 7g CaCl2 (1 hand warmer)
Aluminum foil to maintain heat for long time (lasted about 45 minutes)
Thank You for Watching Our Presentation :)