How To Make A Calorimeter

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Calorimetry: Flop Calorimeter Experiment

Have y'all ever wondered why some foods give you more free energy than others?

"Bomb calorimeter" sounds a scrap confusing – it tin as well be called a "combustion calorimeter." The sample is placed in a pocket-sized metal container and lit, or combusted, so it burns up. The estrus from the sample is transferred to the can and then to the h2o. The temperature difference of the water is measured from start to terminate. A larger temperature difference ways that more energy was transferred.

In nutrient, intrinsic free energy is measured in Calories, with a capital C. A Calorie is thou calories, with a lower case c. A calorie is the amount of energy information technology takes to heat 1 gram of water ane caste Celsius. Our bodies are burning up big amounts of energy from nutrient every 24-hour interval and every night!

Calorimetry is the study of finding the amount of energy in a material.

Determine which nut contains the nigh energy. What type of nut volition produce the most energy – almonds, peanuts or cashews? Why?

(Technically, peanuts are beans, not nuts, but we can even so utilize them in this experiment!)

10 whole almonds
10 whole peanuts, out of the shell
10 whole cashews
Light or match
Kitchen or nutrient scale that measures in grams
Water
Jug or large container
Can opener
Small metallic tin can
Large metallic can, similar a coffee tin can
Drill or hammer and nail
Metal rod or skewer
Tape
Thermometer capable of measuring in Celcius
Needle
Cork

Fill up the jug or large container with water and let it sit while you build your calorimeter. It should be room temperature by the time you accept to use information technology.
Insert the eye of the needle into the smaller finish of the cork. Exist conscientious of the precipitous stop!
Using the can opener, cut off the top and bottom of the large can. Aluminum can exist very abrupt later on cutting, so be wary of the edges. Wash it out and let information technology dry.
Using the drill or the hammer and nail, punch some holes around the perimeter of the bottom of the large can. Why do the holes need to be at the bottom of the can?
Using the can opener, cut off the top of the metal tin. Launder it out and let information technology dry.
Using the drill or the hammer and nail, create two holes straight across from each other nearly ½-inch higher up the open stop of the can.
Insert the metal rod or skewer into the holes in the small can.
Record the metal rod over the tiptop opening of the large tin, the side with no holes. The small can will hang down inside the larger can.
Place the thermometer in the small-scale can.
Pour one-half a cup of water into the small tin. Be certain the corporeality of water in the can is the aforementioned for each trial. Why is it important that the amount of water in the tin is the aforementioned?
Select a nut and weigh it on the food scale. Tape the weight.
Carefully insert the precipitous end of the needle into the nut.
Place the larger end of the cork on a not-flammable counter top with the nut facing up.
Light the nut with a lighter or a friction match. Information technology may take a couple of tries to go the nut to stay lit. Take care not to burn yourself or your wearable!
Quickly place the large tin over the cork and nut. The small hanging tin can will be directly over the called-for nut.

Calorimeter

Tape the first temperature of the h2o.
Burn down the nut until it goes out. Record the temperature of the water later the nut goes out and tape any other observations in your notebook.
Discard the water in the tin and fill up it with some other half cup from the room temperature jug. Repeat 10 trials per type of nut. This allows yous to get a enough samples to get a good boilerplate. Which nut produces the greatest change in temperature?
For each nut, calculate the modify in temperature per weight of the nut. Why would the temperature modify per weight matter? How tin can we calculate calories using this information? Hint: ½ a cup of h2o is equal to 118 grams.

On boilerplate, cashews produce the most energy, while peanuts produce the least.

Combustion, more normally known equally burning, combines a material with oxygen (which is really very flammable!) and energy in to produce estrus. This is what happens to the nut. The heat from the nut rises through the air and heats the can of water, then the temperature is measured. The holes at the bottom of the larger can insure that the estrus rises upwardly, it acts like the chimney in a house. Without the holes, the large can would feel more than of the heating.

It is important that the same amount of water be used in the can for each trial because that is the standard by which y'all can compare the measurement. Information technology is the control variable.

Cashews will produce the largest amount of energy change, followed by almonds. Peanuts will produce the least. Temperature per weight matters because this is how to measure out the amount of calories in the nut.

Calculating calories:

Change in degrees Celsius / grams of water = # of calories

100 * calories = # of Calories (food calories)

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