MCAT Question of the Day
    •

    Q:

    		 A student is performing bomb calorimetry for a combustion reaction. The bomb calorimeter normally holds 5 L of water with a heat capacity of 4.185 J/g•°C. However, the student misread the directions and used 6 L of ethanol which has a heat capacity of 2.423 J/g•°C. If the student calculates the energy released by the reaction assuming it was 5 L of water, what will be the difference between the actual energy of the reaction and the calculated energy? Note: the density of ethanol and water under normal conditions is 0.8 g/mL and 1.0 g/mL, respectively.
    		 

    A

    		 The calculated energy will be higher than the actual energy because the total heat capacity of the calorimeter with ethanol is greater than with water.

    B

    		 The calculated energy will be higher than the actual energy because the total heat capacity of the calorimeter with ethanol is less than with water.

    C

    		 The calculated energy will be lower than the actual energy because the total heat capacity of the calorimeter with ethanol is greater than with water.

    D

    		 The calculated energy will be lower than the actual energy because the total heat capacity of the calorimeter with ethanol is less than with water.



    Thermochemistry | Quantitative Skills |
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