what are the Errors in a calorimeter lab?

Question

We did a lab proving the conservation of thermal energy using a calorimeter. Our objective was that the heat lost by hot water was the heat gained by the cold water. My group got 20% error!! What are the possible sources of it?

Answer 1

The easiest error reason is that the calorimeter wasn't a perfect insulator. This is because you must have opened the calorimeter when you added the cold water. Thus, heat was lost not only to the cold water but to the surrounding environment. Also, you might not have waited long enough for the thermometer to read, so the temperature of the hot water was lower than it really was, or the temperature of the cold water was warmer than it really was. Another possible source of error is the increase in heat by stirring due to increased kinetic energy.

However, only good error sources will explain the direction of the error, so you might want to consider which way (more heat or less heat) an error source would affect your final result.

Answer 2

Sources of error for calorimeter lab would include:

Errors in thermometers - esp. if you are using different thermometers, they may not read the same temperature even if placed in the same liquid

Stirring error: If you stir inefficiently (insufficiently) the mixture may not be uniform.

Insulation error: If the calorimeter is not properly insulated, heat losses to the surroundings will occur.

Calculation error: Error in calculation

Measurement error in volume and or weight: The amount of water taken must be measured accurately.

Some of the errors may get added up and lead to bigger errors.

The best way is to repeat the experiment three times and try to eliminate all the sources of error.

Answer 3

Our calorimeter lab utilized an aluminum calorimeter cup. The reaction used hydrochloric acid. One of our systematic errors was a result of a reaction between the aluminum cup and hydrochloric acid, which lead to an increase in heat production.