Question

Part 1: Explain possible limitations of a calorimeter, and how you can overcome these limitations.

Part 2: Design an experiment to calculate the energy contained in 5 grams of potato chips.

Answer 1

(1)

The main limitation of a calorimeter is that it is not perfect, which means that it is not perfectly insulating.

As a result it will absorb some of the reaction heat and radiate it to the surroundings. Thus the assumption of no heat loss to the surroundings is generally not possible.

(2)

A basic experimental set up is as follows:

Take the potato chips and burn them( combustion). Place a beaker will a known quantity of water and a known initial temperature above the burning chips so that the energy of combustion from the chips goes directly into the beaker of water, which causes a rise in temperature.

This rise in temperature for the known quantity of water is used to get a fair estimate of the amount of energy stored in the chips.

Hope this helps !