To Find Out Which Fuel Gives Out the Most Energy.

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Fuels Investigation

Aim: To find out which fuel gives out the most energy.

Planning

We will be using 6 different fuels to heat up 100ml of water, and find out the changes of the temperature. We will measure the temperatures of the water before and after the experiment. We will burn heat the water for exactly 2 minutes, and check the changes in temperature. The change in temperature will allow us to work out the energy given off the fuel by using this formula:

Mass of water x 4.2 (water's specific heat capacity) x temperature change = energy transferred from the fuel to the water

When the fuels are burnt, energy is given off. I will be calculating the energy given off using the formula above. The specific heat capacity is the energy needed (Joules) to heat 1 gram of water by one degrees Celsius.

Preliminary Experiment

To help me decide the vital elements of the experiment, I made a trial run using methanol to check if my chosen quantities and set up would work.

Results:

Height of can from burner: 5cm

Mass of burner at start = 204.47g. Mass of