E CHEM LABORATORY

Experiment No. 4
Heat of combustion

Name: ________________________ Program/Section: _________ Date:________

Objectives:
1. To measure the heat evolved in combustion reactions.
2. To determine the fuel value of a substance.
3. To calculate the heat of combustion from the measured temperature increase in the
bomb calorimeter.

A. Watch the following videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIc5UGFG3rQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOwoLI8fH20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmXjvTGAIeQ

B. CONCEPTS:

 A fuel is a chemical substance that burns in oxygen to produce heat energy.

 Combustion is a chemical reaction between a fuel and oxygen to release heat. ...
 The heat of combustion is the heat produced when one mole of a substance is completely
burnt in oxygen under standard conditions.
 The substances can be elements or compounds. .. .

Combustion is an exothermic reaction, so it releases heat, but sometimes the reaction proceeds so

slowly that a temperature change is not noticeable. Good signs that you are dealing with
a combustion reaction include the presence of oxygen as a reactant and carbon dioxide, water
,and heat as products.

 Combustion is classified as a chemical change because combustion involves the rapid

combination of fuel with oxygen to produce new substances. 1) When a substance is heated,
there is an increased motion of the particles. 2) When a substance is cooled, there is a
decreased motion of the particles.
 A combustion reaction is a chemical reaction in which a material combines with oxygen to give
off light and heat. In the most common combustion reactions, hydrocarbon-containing
materials such as wood, gasoline or propane , burn in air to release carbon dioxide and water
vapor.
 Balancing chemical equation is the process of equalizing the number of each element in the
reactants to the products.

What is the balanced chemical equation for the combustion of propane?

One mole of propane needs five moles of oxygen for complete oxidation. The balanced equation for
combustion of propane is:  C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2

 To calculate the amount of heat released in a chemical reaction, use the equation Q = mc ΔT,
where Q is the heat energy transferred (in joules), m is the mass of the liquid being heated (in
grams), c is the specific heat capacity of the liquid (joule per gram degrees Celsius ) and ΔT is
the change in temperature of the liquid (degrees Celsius).

 The amount of heat released per unit mass or unit volume of a substance when the 
substance is completely burned is the heat of combustion.

 The molar heat of combustion (H e) is the heat released when one mole of a substance is
completely burned. Typical combustion reactions involve the reaction of a carbon-containing
material with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water as products

The standard enthalpy change of combustion of a compound is the enthalpy change which

occurs when one mole of the compound is burned completely in oxygen under standard
conditions, and with everything in its standard state. The enthalpy change of combustion will
always have a negative value, of course, because burning always releases heat.

 The heat of combustion is utilized to quantify the performance of a fuel in a combustion

system such as furnaces, motors and power generation turbines. It is the same as the  gross
heating value or energy content.

QUESTIONS and PROBLEMS:

1. Differentiate between coffee-cup calorimeter and bomb calorimeter.

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2. List down all the apparatus needed in the experiment for heat of combustion.

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3. Give at least five examples of a substance used as fuel.

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4. Differentiate between a complete combustion and an incomplete combustion.

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5. Balance the following chemical reactions:

A) C8H18 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

B) C6H12O6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

C) C57H110O6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O

6. ) A 0.5865 g sample of lactic acid [HC 3H5O3] is burned in a calorimeter whose heat capacity
is 4.182 KJ/oC. The temperature increases from 23.10 oC to 24.95oC. (a) Balance the chemical
equation for the combustion of lactic acid. Calculate the heat of combustion of lactic acid (b)
per gram and (c) per mole.

7. ) A 1.80 g sample of phenol [C 6H5OH] was burned in a bomb calorimeter whose heat
capacity is 11.666 KJ/oC. The temperature of the calorimeter plus contents increased from
21.36oC to 26.37oC. (a) Write the balanced chemical equation for the bomb calorimeter
reaction. (b) What is the heat of combustion per gram of phenol? (c ) per mole of phenol?

CONCLUSION:
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