Question

In a heat of neutralization lab experiment, why do the temperatures of the acid and base must be the same? What happens if they are not the same?

Answer 1

In a heat of neutralization lab experiment the temperatures of the acid and base must be the same because the calculation of the heat of neutralization is dependent on the temperature change of the reaction mixture. so when the temerature of the acid and base solution are same then the after mixing the solutions the resultant solution must have the same temperature and when reaction happens and heat is produced by the reaction then the temperature of the reaction mixture will increase. and this will give the correct temperature change value for the solution.

If the temperatures of the acid and base solutions are not same then after mixing the equilibrium temperature will be different and the reaction mixture will not show the correct temperature change after the reaction completion. This will lead to incorrect calculations of the heat of neutralization.

That's why the temperatures of the acid and base solutions in the heat of neutralization lab experiment must be same unless it will give incorrect results.