An Investigation into the Enthalpies of the Combustion of Alcohols.

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An Investigation into the Enthalpies of the Combustion of Alcohols

Planning

My aim for this experiment is to see the energy produced from different alcohols. This investigation involves burning alcohol in the air. 'GCSE Chemistry' by B.Earl and L.D.R Wilford says that "alcohols form, another homologous series, with the general formula Cn H2n+1OH ". The alcohol reacts with the oxygen in the air to form the products water and carbon dioxide.

This reaction is exothermic, as heat is given out. This is because the amount reactant energy is more than the product energy the difference between this is ?H, therefore some energy has been given out in the form of heat. The energy is given out when forming the bonds between the new water and carbon dioxide molecules. This can be shown in an energy level diagram: Reaction co-ordinate ?H is the heat content, which is the enthalpy, which is negative in exothermic reactions as the diagram shows that energy is 'lost' as heat. Enthalpy is defined as the energy of reaction, or the heat energy associated with a chemical change. For any reaction carried out directly at a constant pressure, the heat flow is