10th December 2010

Teacher: Mr. Mohamood Fasail

Omaru Nimaga Gahousson

Determining an enthalpy change of reaction

Objective
The purpose of this reaction is to determine the enthalpy change for the Redox reaction:
Zn(s) + Cu2+ (aq) → Cu(s) + Zn2+ (aq)

Apparatus
 Safety Spectacles  Weighing bottle
 Pipette, 25ml  Spatula
 Pipette Filler  Balance
 Polystyrene cup with lid (x2)  Thermometer
 Stopwatch  Beaker (x4)

Chemical
 6g of Zinc Powder (In Excess)  35ml of CuSO4

Theory
As the following reaction (Zn(s) + Cu2+ (aq) → Cu(s) + Zn2+ (aq)) is exothermic by
measuring temperature at each time integral and then plotting a graph of temperature against
time by extrapolating the curve to the time when zinc powder is added to the copper sulphate
solution we can find the maximum temperature rise. By using the formula Energy release =
Mass x Specific heat capacity x Temperature change, we can find the energy release by the
reaction. As the concentration of the copper (II) sulphate solution is known we can find the
number of mole of copper (II) sulphate solution in 25ml , by using Number of mole =
(Volume x Molarity). Therefore the enthalpy change of the reaction is found by dividing the
energy release with the number of mole of copper (II) sulphate used and adding a negative
sign to the whole value.

Procedure
 Wash the pipette with distilled water and then with CuSO4
 25ml of Copper was pipetted to the polystyrene cup and that polystyrene cup is placed
on another polystyrene cup on a beaker
 Around 6g of Zinc powder was weighted which is already in excess
 The thermometer was put through the hole in the lid, the solution was stirred with the
 thermometer and the reading of the temperature every half minute is recorded
 Zinc powder was added to the cup at precisely 3minutes after the solution is put into the
cup
 The stirring was continued until an additional 6minutes to complete

Results
Time/min 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
Temperature/0C 20.3 20.4 20.4 20.4 20.4 20.3 - 60 63.5 64.9
Time/min 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5
Temperature/0C 65.9 64.9 64.5 63.4 62.7 61.4 60.5 59.9 59.1 58.4

Concentration of CuSO4 = 1M

Thetemperatureof themixtureat each timeintegral

70

60
Temperature/oC

50

40

30

20
0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5 9.5

Time/min

By referring to the graph we can find that the maximum temperature rise is 70 oC.
We assume that the density and the specific heat capacity of CUSO4 is the same as water
which is 1gcm3 and 4180JK-1kg-1 respectively. We also assume that during the reaction
polystyrene cup did not gain any heat. No solution was evaporated during the reaction.
By using the formula: E=mcΔT
E = 0.025x (4180) x (70-20.3)
E = 5193.65J (Corr. To 2 dec. place)
Number of mole of CUSO4: (25/1000) x 1
= 0.025mol

So the enthalpy change of the reaction (per mole) = -5193.65/0.025

= -208kJmol-1

Discussion
The result means when every 1 mole of Cu2+ and Zn react 208kJ of energy will be given off
as heat. The temperature of the copper (II) sulphate before zinc was added fluctuate indicates
that the temperature of the copper (II) sulphate is not evenly distributed, as we stirred the
temperature stabilized. When the zinc is added to copper (II) sulphate the temperature
increases sharply as they start to react and releasing energy. As the temperature of the reaction
mixture is higher than that of the surrounding therefore there was heat transfer to the
surrounding making the temperature of the reacting mixture decrease as time goes.

There are some errors in the experiment. There was heat lost to the surrounding making the
temperature of the reacting mixture decreased so the final temperature of the solution is
lowered making the enthalpy change of the reaction lower. Also when the pipette is dip into
CuSO4 to pipette it some of the solution might be transferred through the surface of the pipette
to the polystyrene cup making the actual number of mole reacting higher so the heat
elaborated is higher making the enthalpy change higher. When the pipette is transferring 25ml
of CuSO4 to the polystyrene cup, some of the solution stayed in the upper part of the cup
making the actual number of mole reacting smaller so the temperature elaborated lower so the
enthalpy change is lower. As the specific heat capacity of the excess zinc and the polystyrene
cup is ignored making the enthalpy change of the reaction lower than the actual value. The
solution might evaporate to the air space inside the cup or may leave the cup through the hole
of the lid when they are reacting making the mass of the solution lower.
Improvement can be made we can take the specific heat capacity of zinc and the polystyrene
cup into account. The experiment can be carry out in a calorimeter of vacuum flask to reduce
the heat lost to the surroundings.

As the enthalpy change is quite exothermic which indicates that the products is more stable
than the reactants which means the Zinc is more stable in ion form than in atom form and
Copper is more stable in atom form than in ion form. As the reaction can also be called as a
Redox reaction where the zinc is the reducing agent and the copper is the oxidizing agent. The
reaction shows that the zinc is a stronger reducing agent and the copper is a stronger oxidizing
agent.
Questions
1) Compare your result with the accepted value of -217kJmol-1 by calculating the percentage
error in your answer.
Ans: Error = [(experimental value – accepted value) x 100%]/ accepted value
= [(-208kJmole-1 + 217 kJmole-1) x 100%]/-217 kJmole-1
= -4.15%
Therefore the experimental value is lower than the actual value by 4.15%.

2) List possible reasons for any difference between your value and the accepted value
Ans: As there was heat lost to the surrounding therefore the final temperature is lower than
actual making the change in temperature lower so the enthalpy changes lower than actual.

3) Why do you think the temperature increases for a few readings after adding the zinc?
Ans: As when the zinc was added the copper (II) sulphate solution did not react with it totally
so by the time the copper (II) sulphate solution is used up the maximum temperature will be
reach.

Limitations
It’s hard to determine the specific heat capacity of the reaction mixture as its content is
changing with time and also the total mass of the reaction mixture is also changing with time
therefore the mass of it can hardly be determine.

Conclusion
Therefore the enthalpy change of the reaction determined by this experiment is -208 kJmole-1.