In this investigation I will be burning alcohols to heat up a beaker of water. I will be burning five alcohols, methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and pentanol. The aim is to find out how much energy is produced when burning these alcohols.

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Planning

In this investigation I will be burning alcohols to heat up a beaker of water. I will be burning five alcohols, methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and pentanol. The aim is to find out how much energy is produced when burning these alcohols. ‘An alcohol is a series of organic homologous compounds, with the general formula Cn H n + 1OH´. Alcohols react with oxygen in the air to form water and carbon dioxide.

The reaction that is involved in burning alcohols is exothermic because heat is given out. Form this reason the reactant energy is higher than that of the product.

The energy is given out when forming the bonds between the new water and carbon dioxide molecules. The amount of energy produced by such exothermic reactions can be calculated by using the formula Mass of the substance x rise in temp x SHC( specific heat capacity). The specific heat capacity is the number of joules required to heat one gram of water by 1ºC. I chose to use water because it is safe, easily found, and has a reliable specific heat capacity of 4.2.

The bond that are formed in an exothermic reaction can be of two types. The first could be ionic, where a metal is produced. Ionic bonding involves electrons transferring from one atom to the other consequently leaving an electrostatic force between them. The other form of bonding is covalent where atoms share electrons to complete their outer orbit. An example being Methane where four hydrogen atoms each share an electron with a carbon atom. essaybank.co.uk

The method that I will use is as follows…

· Measure 100cm of water in to a glass beaker

· Place the beaker into the grasp of the clamp stand.

· Record the starting temperature of the water

· Weigh the spirit burner with the lid on.

· Put the chosen alcohol burner under the beaker allowing the flame to just touch the beaker.

· Leave to heat up until the temperature of the water is exactly 50ºC more than the original temperature. wwbd bdw esbdbds aybd bdba nbd kcbd bduk.

· Weigh the spirit burner

· Record all results

The variables that must remain constant throughout the experiment are… wwga gaw esgagas ayga gaba nga kcga gauk!

· Mass of the water 100cm

· Type of beaker, glass

· Temperature rise of 50ºC.

· Surrounding temperature of around 23ºC

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· The height of the beaker from the wick

· Same set of scales

· Weigh the spirit burner with the lid on.

The variable that must be changed is… wwdd ddw esdddds aydd ddba ndd kcdd dduk.

· The type of alcohol used

The formulae of the alcohols that I will be using are…

· Methanol CH OH

· Ethanol C H OH

· Propanol C H OH

· Butanol C H OH

· Pentanol C H OH

Prediction

I predict that the more bonds there are holding the carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms together, more energy ...

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