Question

if you had used a calorimeter that was not insulated as well, how would your results be affected? what about a calorimeter that was more insulted?

Answer 1

A calorimeter is a device used to measure the quantity of heat exchange to or from an object. It is generally used to measure heat capacity or specific heat of substance.

Calorimetry is measuring the change in heat associated with a chemical reaction.Calorimeter works on the principle of energy conservation. It contains a thermometer which is placed in insulated calorimeter vessel bath containing a substance or a reaction mixture which we are going to study .

If there is no energy loss from sytem (insulated calorimeter) to surrounding amount of heat that calorimeter get (heat released in exothermic reaction) is used to increase temperature of reaction mixture and temperature will decrease in endothermic reaction due to absorption of heat by reaction.

where Q = amount of heat transfer (or heat of reaction for chemical reaction system)

m = mass of substance in calorimeter vessel bath (or mass of reaction mixture)

c = specific heat of substance present in calorimeter (or specific heat of reaction mixture)

= change in temperature of substance from intial state to final state

If we use a calorimeter that was not insulted well then there is a loss of heat from calorimeter to surrounding due to that amount of heat that calorimeter substance exchange is less to change in temperature of substane and the vale of specific heat that we calculate from above formula is not correct value because of heat loss.

So to minimize error in the results that we get from above engery balance formula our calorimeter should have properly insulated. More insulated the calorimeter, lesser the heat loss, more accurate the results.