why calibrate a calorimeter

[Lozz08]

You can hide this advertisement by registering.

hi,

could someone plz tell me the purpose for calibrating a calorimeter?

[Lozz08]

Originally Posted by Lozz08

hi,

could someone plz tell me the purpose for calibrating a calorimeter?

URGENT!!

[205ism]

because it gives a calibration factor, which will be different on each caloriometer, so you need to calibrate it each time

[gcspsp]

Because You Just Have To!

[a.b]

Once you have the calibration factor by measuring the change in temperature you can either work out the number of mole of the known substance you are reacting/burning and thus the mass. Or if you have the heat content of known substances and a known mass of a compound, you can work backwards and determine the substance you have (I'm positive about the first use, and pretty sure about the second though i could be wrong)

[jezzawesome]

my understanding is that

we calibrate a calorimeter to account for the heat loss in the calorimeter because not all heat is transferred to the water, heat is lost in; the material of the calorimeter etc etc.

if the calibration factor (cf) is completely different to the heat capacity of the substance (cp) then your calorimeter is a poor insulator (will not keep heat in)

[Inneed]

To calibrate a Calorimeter means to set the calorimeter to standard, thereby enabling you to accurately measure the amount of heat gain or lost in a reaction.