UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA

FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES

Department of Chemistry

CHM 1103 Laboratory Exercise #7 – Investigating the Enthalpy Change of a Reaction

LANFERMAN, Shemar 1039043

SURNAME, First Name(s) USI

Description
The enthalpy change for a reaction may be measured in the laboratory by simply adding an
excess of a reactant (in this case zinc powder) to a measured amount of a second reactant (in this
case aqueous copper (II) sulphate). During the reaction, the temperature must be measured over a
period of time, which will then allow for the enthalpy change to be calculated.

The enthalpy change for the reaction is determined by estimating the amount of heat absorbed or
released by 1 mole of reacting particles.

where n – the number of moles of reacting particles

q – the amount of heat absorbed or released by the reacting particles
ΔH – the molar enthalpy changes for the process

The heat absorbed or released is quantified by uses of the expression q = - mcΔT

where m – mass of the reaction mixture
c – is the heat capacity of the reaction mixture
ΔT – the change in temperature of the reaction mixture (Tfinal - Tinitial)

Please note that the mass of the reaction mixture is dependent on the density and volume of the
solution and that the density of aqueous solutions are assumed to be the same as the density of
water (1 g/cm3). Further, the heat capacity of the reaction mixture is also assumed to be the same
as the heat capacity of water (4.18 Jg-1 0C-1).

Goals for the Experiment/Activity

This activity will allow students to
• Gain experience in use of the thermometer
• Obtain experience in the experimental determination of heat transferred in a reaction
• Practice in plotting and reading of graphs

Materials Needed
• Copper (II) sulphate solution
• Zinc powder
• 25 cm3 pipette
• balance
• thermometer (0 – 100 0C)
• polystyrene cup with lid
• stopwatch

Safety Precautions
Handle the thermometer with care, do not touch the bulb of the thermometer and do not attempt to shake
down the mercury level in the thermometer. Wash hands thoroughly before leaving the Laboratory.
Always wear chemical splash goggles when working in the laboratory with glassware, heat, or
chemicals.
Procedure

1. Pipette 25.0 cm3 of the copper (II) sulphate solution into a polystyrene cup.
2. Weigh about 6 g of zinc powder in the weighing bottle. (This reagent is in excess so there
is no need to be accurate).
3. Place the thermometer through the hole in the lid, stir and record the temperature to the
nearest 0.1 0C every minute for 3 minutes.
4. At precisely 4 minutes, add the zinc powder to the cup (do not record temperature until
the 5th minute).
5. Continue stirring and recording the temperature for an additional 6 minutes to complete
results

Results

Time/min 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

Temperature/0C 29.0 29.0 29.0 29.0 62.0
Time/min 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0
Temperature/0C 61.0 57.0 54.0 51.5 49.5 47.5

Calculations

1. Plot a graph of temperature (y-axis) against time (x-axis).

2. Extrapolate the curve to 4.0 minutes to establish the maximum temperature rise.
3. Calculate the heat absorbed or released by the reaction mixture for the quantities used.

q = mcΔT
q = 31g x 4.18 j/Cg x 360C
= 4664.88 J (4.66488 KJ)

4. Calculate the enthalpy change for one mole of Zn and CuSO4(aq) and write the
thermochemical equation for the reaction.

31 mL 1mol

= 1000ml/1mol = 31ml/x =0.031mols

= 0.031/4.66488KJ = 150.48KJ/mols

= molar enthalpy change = - 150.48 KJ/mol

Thermochemical equation reaction. Zn(s) + CuSO4(aq) → ZnSO4 (aq) + Cu(s) ΔH= -

150.48KJ/mol

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5. State two possible sources of error or limitation in the use of this method.

Unwanted heat loss to the surrounding.

The placement of the thermometer bulb onto slowly dissolving solids.

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