Technological University of the Philippines

Chemistry for Engineers Laboratory

Instructor: Addie Albano

Chemistry for Engineers Lab

1st Semester AY. 2021-2022
Midterm Exam
Duration: 90mins.

Instructions:
a) Show complete solution, conversion, and units involved. Express final answers up to three decimal
places.
b) You may submit your answer sheet(s) as handwritten or typewritten, strictly in PDF or JPEG file.
c) Allot one page per question no matter how long or short your answer is.

I. A coffee-cup calorimeter contains 150.0 g of water at 25.1°C. A 121.0 g block of copper metal is
heated to 100.4°C by putting it in a beaker of boiling water. The specific heat of Cu(s) is 0.385 J/
g-K. The Cu is added to the calorimeter, and after a time the contents of the cup reach a constant
temperature of 30.1 °C.
ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑑
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 =
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑥 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒

𝒒
𝒄=
𝒎 ∆𝑻

a. Determine the amount of heat, in J, lost by the copper block. (5pts)

b. Determine the amount of heat gained by the water. The specific heat of water is 4.18
J/g-K. (5pts)
c. What would be the final temperature of the system if all the heat lost by the copper
block were absorbed by the water in the calorimeter? (5pts)

II. A voltaic cell is constructed from the following half-cells: a magnesium electrode in magnesium
sulfate solution and a nickel electrode in nickel sulfate solution. The half-reactions are
Mg (s) → Mg2+ (aq) + 2e- E° = -2.37 V
Ni (aq) + 2e → Ni (s)
2+ -
E° = -0.28 V

Sketch the cell, labeling the anode and cathode (and the electrode reactions), and show the
direction of electron flow and the movement of cation. Calculate the cell potential. (15pts)

III. Calculate the cell potential of the following cell at 298 K. Identify cathode and anode. (7pts)
2 Ag+(aq) (0.50 M) + Ni(s) ⇋ 2 Ag(s) + Ni2+ (aq) (0.20 M)
E° Ag = 0.80 V
E° Ni = -0.28 V

IV. A wooden artifact from a Chinese temple has a 14C activity of 38.0 counts per minute as compared
with an activity of 58.2 counts per minute for a standard of zero age. From the half-life of 14C
decay, 5715 yr, determine the age of the artifact. (5pts)

** Nothing follows **

“It’s not the lack of intelligence,

it’s the lack of focus that is stopping you.”
- Prof. Richard Feynman, American Physicist