Enthalpy of paraffin wax Lab

The thermometer used throughout the experiment must be the same to ensure it doesn’t cause random error.

The water used must be from the same source to ensure it’s qualities are the same. This will be done by using the same tap for the water.  

The system should be closed so that no energy is released to the atmosphere.

Procedure

1. Weigh the candle and the can and note down their masses
2. Take 100g of water and pour it in the can
3. Measure the temperature of the water in the can and note it down
4. Place the candle below the can (which is suspended above it using a clamp attached to a pole)
5. light the candle
6. Wait around 5 minutes before noting down the temperature of the water
7. blow out the candle and push it aside carefully and swiftly
8. Take the mass of the candle and note it down in your datatable.
9. Weigh the can with the water, take the final mass down and jot down how much water was lost during the procedure
10. Repeat steps 1 to 9 for the second trial

Datatable

Calculations are on attached sheet

Reasons for difference :

   Improvements
More trials could be done

We could time the amount of time the paraffin wax candle burns to give us more even values

Water was lost when removing and placing the thermometer, this could be avoided by having the thermometer in the water the whole time, but then the thermometer would absorb the heat as well.

Sources of error :  Some water and paraffin wax was lost to then environment during the experiment, this can not be changed.

Some of the heat was escaping to the atmosphere from the candle, this could not be improved because the candle needs oxygen to burn so we could not place it in an insulated environment.