Determination of the hydration enthalpy of an electrolyte (solution enthalpy) with Cobra SMARTsense

Principle

When a solid electrolyte dissolves in water, a positive or negative heat effect occurs as a result of the destruction of the crystal lattice and the formation of hydrated ions. The enthalpy of hydration of copper sulphate can be calculated from the different heats of reaction measured when anhydrous and hydrated copper sulphate are separately dissolved in water.

Benefits

• Calorimeters with particularly high capacitance
• Part of a system solution - Easily expandable for further experiments
• Simplified implementation: all pre-settings already prepared

Tasks

1. Record temperature-time curves for the dissolution of anhydrous copper sulphate and hydrated copper sulphate in water.
2. Calculate the hydration enthalpy of anhydrous copper(II)sulphate.

Learning objectives

• Integral enthalpy of solution
• Hess's law
• Lattice energy
• Ion solvation
• Calorimetry

Necessary accessories

• Precision balance 6200g/0.01g

 This experiment requires a computer. Software provided.