What happens if we use water instead of kerosene in joules calorimeter experiment
In a Joules calorimeter experiment, water is typically used as a reference substance because it has a specific heat capacity of 4.18 J/g°C. The specific heat capacity represents the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a substance by 1 degree Celsius.
If you were to use water instead of kerosene in a Joules calorimeter experiment, there would not be any significant difference except for the specific heat capacity of the substance being tested.
To calculate the heat energy released or absorbed in this experiment, you would use the formula:
Q = m * c * ΔT
Where:
Q represents the heat energy in joules (J)
m represents the mass of the substance being tested in grams (g)
c represents the specific heat capacity of the substance being tested in joules per gram per degree Celsius (J/g°C)
ΔT represents the change in temperature in degrees Celsius (°C)
By substituting the appropriate values for mass and change in temperature, and using the specific heat capacity of water (4.18 J/g°C), you can calculate the heat energy involved in the experiment. However, since kerosene has a different specific heat capacity, using water instead will yield inaccurate results.
So, while you can still perform the experiment by using water, it is essential to consider the specific heat capacity of the substance being tested to obtain accurate measurements.