Kieran Parker

Chemistry Coursework
Accuracy of data My data isnt very accurate and Im not confident in my data. I know this because the range bars are large and there is a clear outlier. A good thing about my data though is that it is reliable. By including the outlier each test was completed three times and the results recorded. Hexanol, having the greatest relative molecular mass, only transferred 902.177 more Joules per gram of energy more than Methanol which has the smallest relative molecular mass. Other fuels transferred thousands more of Joules per gram and because the Hexanol data goes against my trend it isnt good data. Difference between points Methanol transferred the lowest amount of energy with a mean of 1132.083 Joules per gram whereas Pentanol, with a mean of 17692.09 Joules per gram transferred the highest amount of energy. There was an outlier within the Hexanol data because the mean of the fuel was 2034.26 which was the second lowest amount of energy transferred but it has the largest relative molecular mass. Conclusion Overall there is positive correlation but it isnt strong. The weak positive correlation is because Butanol and Hexanol did not fit the trend. This was because there was less energy transferred from them. The gradient of my line of best fit is 62.5 for the first three fuels and 250 for the last three fuels. From the gradient of my line of best fit I know that the first three fuels transferred more energy quickly than the last three fuels. The line of best fit would be higher and closer to all points if Hexanol had not been so low. In the data for Hexanol, I had noticed an outlier. As the graph shows the mean is not within the error bars for Hexanol. I chose to leave the outlier in the data and calculate the mean from it to make sure that the data is reliable and to have fair data. This means that for each fuel there were three tests carried out and if I had removed the outlier there would have only be two tests carried out for Hexanol which would make the data unreliable. During an exothermic reaction energy, which is stored in the bonds of chemicals, is given out when the bonds between the atoms of the product is made. This means that the more of the product you have, the more energy is released because there are more bonds. Relating this to my data, the more of the product there is, the larger the relative molecular mass of one of the reactants will be. The most of energy released when burning the alcohols was when the products (Carbon Dioxide and Water) were made from the complete combustion of Pentanol, this gave out 27236 KJ/mol. In theory it should have been Hexanol which released the most amount of energy due to its relative molecular mass but it wasnt because outliers were present in the data. The theory proved correct though for Methanol, which gave out the lowest amount of energy at 6932 KJ/mol, and this transferred the least amount of energy in the experiment.

Method

Kieran Parker We set up the equipment. This included putting the clamp stand on the table and placing the heat proof mat next to that. Also we collected the timer, splint, thermometer, copper pot and Methanol. Then we filled the pot with 40ml (measured using a measuring beaker) water and recorded the temperature of the water with the thermometer. We then weighed our first fuel, Methanol, and recorded the weight. We placed the Methanol on the heatproof mat and put the copper pot in the boss, above the fuel. Then we lit the fuel (Methanol) and timed for one minute and a half. When the time was up we weighed the fuel, wrote down the weight and recorded the temperature of the water. This was then repeated twice for Methanol and then we repeated the test three times for each other fuels which were: Ethanol, Propanol, Butanol, Pentanol and Hexanol.

We used safety equipment to ensure that we were safe during the experiment. We put on an apron on to prevent our clothes getting dirty or burned. Safety goggles were worn to prevent hot water which may spit up at us burning our eyes. Heat mats were used encase the fuel spilled during it burning and to absorb any heat from the fuel whilst burning. Tongs were used to prevent ourselves burning our finger on the hot copper pot. Problems and Improvements Problems we had whilst collecting our data were not always having the scales so whilst we were weighing the fuel, the temperature of the water might have changed before we had the time to record the temperature. The size of the flames of the fuels was different and because of this a different amount of heat from the fuels escaped. This meant that heat escaped from each of the fuels burning so not all the energy was transferred meaning the data we collected to be false in terms of the specific numbers but the trend would still be correct. The escaped heat did not heat the water in the copper pot which was a problem. To improve the method and resolve the first problem we would be more organized. Each person would be assigned a roll within the group. One person would weigh the fuel, correct to one decimal place and the scales would be close. While this is happening someone else will be recording the temperature of the water, with a thermometer to the nearest degree. The third person would be sorting out the equipment to redo the experiment which includes resetting the timer and getting a splint ready. The data would be recorded separately then a table created at the end because this would save time. To resolve the second problem we would get a cone of clear plastic which could withstand the temperature of the fuels. It would channel the heat energy to the copper pot and no other heat energy from the fuels would escape, solving the problem. Evaluating my data Overall the data is reliable. The reason for this is that we performed each experiment three times each and recorded the results. By keeping our data this reliable there are a few outliers within the data. We knew there was an outlier in the Hexanol data because the mean did not fit within the range bars. Also there was other numbers which we had recorded which seemed too different to the others, these were the outliers.

Kieran Parker My data is not reliable in the sense of it being scientifically reliable. The data that I have is not scientifically accurate or reliable. I know this because the range bars are very big and my data has weak positive correlation. Also the range bars overlap which means that there is not a significant difference between the fuels and that my data is less reliable. I am confident that my line of best fit is correct because it takes into account the low data of Hexanol and the positive trend of the rest of the data. If I altered my line of best fit then I think that my conclusion would be the same because the outlier for Hexanol changes the data in a big way, making you have the same conclusion. I have tried to make my line of best fit as accurate as possible by curving it rather than just a straight line. The outlier was most likely caused by an error by the group. Many things could have caused it for example: there might have been a long time between re-lighting the fuel allowing the water to cool more than other times or the flame might not have been placed fully under the copper pot and as a result all the heat energy from the fuel not reaching the copper pot and not heating the water. Reliability of my conclusion I think that my conclusion is reliable. As I carried out the experiment three times for each fuel I am confident that my conclusion is correct. The scales weighed to one decimal place and we rounded to point 5 (half) of one degree with the thermometer for the temperature. This shows that the results were recorded to a good degree of precision and thus making me confident in my conclusion. There was a big outlier in the Hexanol and this could be fixed by removing it. This would make my conclusion much stronger because it would be more accurate and similar to the theory behind the experiment.