9.

Fishing sinkers & heat of solution

Adapted from Green Chemistry, Sally A. Henrie*
Introduction:
Have you ever twisted your ankle? If you have, you probably put ice on it, or if ice wasn’t
available, an instant cold pack. In that moment you probably didn’t wonder how that cold pack
worked, but it has to be some extremely complicated reaction, right? Wrong! Cold packs
typically use ammonium nitrate dissolving in water to produce a very cold solution.
Calorimetry studies the amount of heat that flows through a physical or chemical change into its
surroundings. What occurs in an ammonium nitrate cold pack illustrates two examples of where
a study in the area of calorimetry is relevant. In the first example, a calorimeter is used to
measure the heat flow for the process of the solvation reaction of ammonium nitrate and water.
The second example involves the specific heat of water.
A reaction’s enthalpy refers to how much heat a reaction gives off or absorbs if the reaction
occurs under constant pressure. Most reactions that you will do in a lab will occur at constant
pressure. So typically, you can just say that enthalpy is equal to the heat of the reaction. The
formula for the enthalpy of a reaction is shown in Equation 1:
∆𝐻 = −𝑚𝑐∆𝑇
In Equation 1, ΔH is the enthalpy of the reaction, m is the mass of water that is absorbing the
heat, c is the specific heat of water, and ΔT is the change in temperature of the water (final
temperature – initial temperature).
There are two types of enthalpy reactions: one that releases heat into the environment is referred
to as an exothermic reaction, while a reaction that absorbs heat from its surroundings is called an
endothermic reaction.
An example of an exothermic reaction is iron reacting with oxygen to form ferric oxide, more
commonly referred to as rust. The formation reaction is shown below:
4𝐹𝑒 + 3𝑂 → 2𝐹𝑒 𝑂
The standard enthalpy for the formation of 1 mole of rust, 𝐹𝑒 𝑂 , is –824.2 kJ/mole; so, the
reaction above releases 1648.4 kJ of heat! The enthalpy value is negative because ΔT is a
positive number, making the overall equation negative.
The reaction of ammonium nitrate and water that occurs in a cold-pack is a good example of an
endothermic solvation reaction:
𝑁𝐻 𝑁𝑂 (𝑠) + 𝐻 𝑂 (𝑙) → 𝑁𝐻 (𝑎𝑞) + 𝑁𝑂 (𝑎𝑞) + 𝐻 𝑂 (𝑙)
The above reaction absorbs 25.69 kJ of heat for every 1 mole of ammonium nitrate that dissolves
in water. This is why a cold pack feels cold—it absorbs heat from the surroundings. Since the
ΔT, or change in temperature, is negative, the enthalpy will be a positive number. A calorimeter
is used to measure the heat flow for a process such as the solvation reaction of ammonium nitrate
and water. It insulates the heat exchange that is occurring so that only heat exchanged in the

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process occurring within the calorimeter is measured. Precision calorimeters are used when very
exact measurements are required. However, in this lab, you will use a very simple calorimeter
composed of two Styrofoam cups nested together. Some heat will be exchanged with the
Styrofoam cups, but it will be minimal.

Example
-A student dissolved 8.014 g of 𝑁𝐻 𝑁𝑂 in 100.012 g of water in a calorimeter. The temperature
changed from 20.9 to 15.2°C. Calculate the enthalpy of the solution the student experimentally
found in kJ/mole of 𝑁𝐻 𝑁𝑂
∆𝐻 = −𝑚𝑐∆𝑇
a. ΔT = Tf – Ti = 15.2°C – 20.9°C = –5.7°C
.
b. 𝑘𝑗 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 = −(100.012 𝑔 𝐻 𝑂) × (−5.7℃) = 2.39 𝑘𝐽
∙℃

c. 8.014𝑔 𝑁𝐻 𝑁𝑂 × = 0.1001 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑁𝐻 𝑁𝑂

.

.
∆𝐻 = = 23.8
.

Water stays cold a long time, which makes it an excellent choice as a solvent for a cold pack or
compress. This is related to a physical property of matter called specific heat. Specific heat is the
amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 g of a substance by 1°C. Water has a
high specific heat value, so it stays colder longer. Since specific heat is a physical property, it can
be used to help determine the identity of a substance.
A calorimeter is also used to determine the specific heat of a substance since measuring heat
flow is involved.
Fishing sinkers (weights) have traditionally been made of lead since it is dense, fairly easy to
cast into the desired shapes, relatively inexpensive, and corrosion-resistant. However, concerns
over lead poisoning have caused lead-based sinkers to be banned in many places. This relates to
the first principle of green chemistry: prevention. The need for a greener replacement has
initiated the use of various substances. Steel and different tungsten alloys are common
replacements. Neither of these is considered ideal since steel is considerably less dense than lead
and tungsten is considerably more expensive, so greener fishing sinkers are still being developed.
Density and specific heat are physical properties that can be used to help identify a metal and
determine its purity. In this lab you will use these physical properties to determine whether a
green fishing sinker is made from steel or tungsten. Density can be found by obtaining the mass
of the fishing sinker and then placing it in water in a graduated cylinder and determining how
many milliliters of water are displaced.
Dividing the mass by the milliliters of displaced water will equal the object’s density. You will
also determine the sinker’s specific heat. This is determined by first obtaining its mass and
heating it to a known temperature. The heated sinker is immediately placed in a calorimeter
containing a known quantity of water at a predetermined temperature. Heat will flow from the
metal to the water until the temperature of the metal and the water is the same. This means the
quantity of heat (q) the metal loses must equal the quantity of heat the water gained.

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Pre-Lab Questions
1. In Part 1 of this lab you will use 0.050 moles of KCl per trial. Calculate how many grams
of KCl you will need to obtain for each trial.
Materials
• Two Styrofoam cups • 250mL beaker
• Digital thermometer • Ring stand and clamp
• Weigh boat • Deionized water
• KCl • Stir rod
• 100mL graduated cylinder • Fishing sinkers sample
• 25mL graduated cylinder • 1 Test-tube, test-tube holder

Procedure
Part 1: Finding enthalpy of potassium chloride.
1. Weigh two dry, clean Styrofoam cups that are nested together, and record the exact mass.
2. Add approximately 60mL of DI water to the cups. (Use your calculations from the prelab
section.) Record the exact mass of the Styrofoam cups with the DI water.
3. Weigh out approximately 0.050moles of KCl into a clean weigh boat (Use your
calculations from the prelab section.) Record the exact mass.
4. Assemble the calorimeter apparatus
as shown in Figure 9.1 by clamping a
thermometer in a wedged stopper to a
ring stand and placing it inside the
nested Styrofoam cups. A lid may
also be provided (If an electronic
thermometer is used, it can be used to
stir instead of a stir rod.) Wait for the
temperature to stabilize and record
the initial temperature in your table to
the 0.1°C.
5. Add all of the KCl into the
calorimeter and stir the mixture
continually. Tilt the cup slightly if
needed to get the thermometer bulb Figure 9.1: Styrofoam cup set-up
fully immersed in the liquid.
6. Continue to monitor the temperature until a minimum temperature is reached and the
temperature has started to definitely increase. Record the minimum temperature obtained
to the 0.1°C.
7. Calculate ΔHsol in kJ/mole KCl using the formula ΔHsol = –mcΔT.
8. Perform one additional trial, average the kJ/mole KCl values, and compare your
experimental value to the literature value of 17.22 kJ/mole. Determine percent error.
9. Clean up. Disposed of KCl solution into the designated waste container, rinse and dry the
Styrofoam cups, do not throw them away, they will be re-used in Part 2
Part 2: Finding density and specific heat for fishing sinkers

1. Make a hot water bath by adding approximately 150 ml DI water into a 250 ml beaker
and placing it on a hot plate. Heat the water to boiling.
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 2. While the water bath is heating, weigh approximately 20g of your unknown sample of
fishing sinkers and record the exact mass.
3. Place 15 ml water into a 25 ml graduated cylinder. Determine and record the exact
volume of water.
4. Tilt the graduated cylinder almost horizontally and carefully place the sinkers into the
graduated cylinder. Slowly tilt the graduated cylinder back up so the sinkers will
gradually slide down. If any water splashes out, you will need to start over again after
drying your sinkers with a paper towel. Determine and record the exact volume the water
and sinkers come up to in the graduated cylinder.
5. Remove the sinkers from the graduated cylinder and completely dry them with a paper
towel.
6. Place the sinkers in a medium test tube by tilting the test tube and letting them slide
down. Use a test tube holder to place the test tube with the sinkers into the hot water bath.
Caution: The water bath is hot! Heat the water for at least 10 minutes after it begins to
boil again to ensure the sinkers are at the same temperature as the hot water.
7. While the water is heating, weigh two dry, clean Styrofoam cups that are nested together,
and record the exact mass.
8. Add approximately 60mL of DI water to the Styrofoam cups. Record the exact mass of
the Styrofoam cups with the DI water.
9. Assemble the calorimeter apparatus the same as you did for Part 1. Wait for the
temperature to stabilize and record the initial temperature in the data table to the 0.1°C.
10. After the water in the hot water bath has boiled for at least 10 minutes, record the initial
metal temperature by determining the temperature of the hot water bath to the 0.1°C.
11. Use a test tube holder to remove the test tube containing the sinkers. Carefully and
quickly pour the sinkers into the calorimeter.
Caution: The water bath and sinkers are hot! Make sure no water on the outside of the
test tube drips into the calorimeter or that any water splashes out of the calorimeter.
Turn off the hot plate and let the water in the beaker cool before touching it.
12. Stir the mixture in the calorimeter until you have determined the maximum temperature
reached. Record the maximum temperature reached to the nearest 0.1°C.
13. Calculate the density and the specific heat for the fishing sinkers. Determine if the sinkers
you tested were made from tungsten, steel, or tin.

Specific Heats are listed below:

Substance Density g/mL at 20 °C. Specific heat J/g°C.
Tin 7.265-7.31 0.213
Steel 7.85 0.452
Tungsten 19.35 0.133

14. Clean up your workspace, return items to their original places, and DO NOT throw away
Styrofoam cups, they will be reused.

Conclusion: write your overall conclusion to this experiment; Evaluate your percent error in Part
1 and Part 2. Explain possible sources of errors and ways to minimize them.

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