BOMB CALORIMETRY AND ∆U

Bomb calorimetry also known as constant Example: Heat of Combustion

volume calorimetry, is conducted under
constant volume (isochoric) conditions.
qv – heat tearms
v – conducted at constant volume, ΔV = 0.
No expansion work can be done throughout
the process (w = 0). This means that all heat
flow (qv) is now equal to the internal energy
change, ∆U.
A 0.500 g sample of naphthalene (C10H10) is
burned in a bomb calorimeter containing 650
g of water at an initial temperature of
20.00°𝐶. After the reaction, the final
temperature of the water is 26.4°𝐶. The heat
capacity of the calorimeter is 420 J/°𝐶. Using
this data, calculate the heat of combustion of
naphthalene in KJ/mol. (note: the specific
heat of water is 4.184 J/g °𝐶).

(surroundings) qcal = Ccal∆T = - qv (system)

Where Ccal is the heat capacity of the entire

calorimeter (both water and hardware). A
bomb calorimeter has lots of hardware and
the heat capacity of just the hardware can be
significant. It is a common practice to split up
the overall calorimeter heat capacity into two
components, the water part and the
hardware part.

Ccal = Cwater + Chardware

Cwater = Cs,water · mwater

Which leads to

qcal = (mwater · Cs,water + Chardware) ∆T