Alcohol Combustion Experiment
Evaluation
In comparing my results with those of published data, I found that my calculated heats of combustion were not accurate. However they did all follow the trend that published data showed, and in that respect my results were correct.
The reasons behind why my results were inaccurate are mainly due to heat loss and incomplete combustion. However, if I were to conduct the investigation again, I feel that my results would be more accurate and closer to those of published data. This is because I now know why my results were inaccurate.
One of the reasons behind why my results were inaccurate was due to heat loss. The fact that there was a sufficient heat loss meant that the temperature rise figure required to work out the energy of combustion was inaccurate. This inaccuracy affected the whole of the results, and would have been emphasised as I multiplied the number of kilojoules up to 1 mol. I could solve this problem by decreasing the distance between the burner and the water tin, as this would have reduced the heat loss, although by doing this some heat still would have been lost to the surrounding air. In order to enforce minimal heat loss, I would have to insulate the tin and burner to ensure that
Evaluation
In comparing my results with those of published data, I found that my calculated heats of combustion were not accurate. However they did all follow the trend that published data showed, and in that respect my results were correct.
The reasons behind why my results were inaccurate are mainly due to heat loss and incomplete combustion. However, if I were to conduct the investigation again, I feel that my results would be more accurate and closer to those of published data. This is because I now know why my results were inaccurate.
One of the reasons behind why my results were inaccurate was due to heat loss. The fact that there was a sufficient heat loss meant that the temperature rise figure required to work out the energy of combustion was inaccurate. This inaccuracy affected the whole of the results, and would have been emphasised as I multiplied the number of kilojoules up to 1 mol. I could solve this problem by decreasing the distance between the burner and the water tin, as this would have reduced the heat loss, although by doing this some heat still would have been lost to the surrounding air. In order to enforce minimal heat loss, I would have to insulate the tin and burner to ensure that