Bunsen Burner Lab: What is the temperature of the Flame?

  • Questions Q#1 thru Q#8 must be answered on a separate piece of paper.
  • Question Q#1 thru Q#5 (except your data) must be completed before class on the day of the lab; or you will no participate in this lab. Make sure you include the proper HEADING on your paper which corresponds to each one of the lab questions below

PRE-LAB QUESTION:

Q#1:a) Define specific heat in your own words.

b) Define the law of conservation of energy

HYPOTHESIS: Q#2: If I can successfully calculate the value of the heat absorbed by the water, then I (should or should not) able to calculate the approximate value of the temperature of my Bunsen burner.

MATERIALS: Q#3: (List all Materials you need for this lab – at least 8 items.)

PROCEDURES:

1. Weigh and record the mass of a nail in your Data Table.

2. Weigh an empty polystyrene cup and record its mass in the Data Table.

3. Fill the cup with room temperature water to a level about 1 cm from the top. Record the mass of the cup and water in the Data Table.

4. Calculate the value of the water alone and record this value in your Data Table.

5. Record the temperature of the water in your Data Table.

6. Suspend the iron nail from a ring stand using thick copper wire.

7. Adjust the iron ring (of the ring stand) so that the tip of the nail will be centered in the inner cone of the burner flame.

8. Light a Bunsen burner and adjust it to produce the proper flame. Heat the nail for ten minutes.

9. Turn off and remove the Bunsen burner. Carefully (and quickly) immerse the nail in the cup of previously measured water. Do not allow the nail to touch the cup.

10. Place a thermometer in the cup. Do not allow the thermometer to touch the nail. Record the highest temperature of the thermometer in your data table.

10. Calculate the change in temperature.

DATA: Q#4: Prepare and record the data of your data table. (Your data table will have only two columns. See the underlined terms above for a hint of the rows in your data table).

ANALYSIS:

You can calculate the amount of heat absorbed by the water with the following formula:

Q = m * c * (change in water temp) where m is the mass of the water

“c” is the specific heat index of water = 4.18

Q#4: Using the above formula, calculate the heat absorbed by the water (“Q”).

Q#5: According to the law of Conservation of Energy, what is the amount of energy lost by the nail in your lab?

You can also do a calculation to figure out the approximate heat lost by the hot nail:

Q = m * c’ * (change in nail temp) where m is the mass of the nail

c’ is the specific heat index of the nail = 0.45

In this equation above, you have already calculated Q.

You already measured the mass of the nail and recorded it in the data table.

Therefore solve the equation for the (change in nail temp.)

Q#6: What is the change in nail temperature?

CONCLUSION:

Q#7: In question number six above you calculated the temperature change of the nail. If you work backward, and ADD back the temperature of the room you can get the approximate temperature of the nail when it was heated in the Bunsen Burner.

What is that value?

Q#8: State a proper conclusion answering your Hypothesis.