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Keeping it Cool…or Making it Hot!

PROBLEM/SCENARIO:
You are part of a research team at JPS Chemical Inc. Your role as an intern is to help the team
try to determine if two chemical salts could be used to make instant hot and cold packs at an affordable
manufacturing price. You are experimenting with dissolving various salts in water. With your fellow
lab interns, you are working to experimentally measure the heat transferred (q) and then use that to
calculate the enthalpy change (H) for the dissolving of the salts in water. Since you are trying to save
money, you will use only about 1 gram of the two chemicals and about 10ml of water for each energy
test. You will perform three trials and average your results. You will do this for both salts.
You recall from previous experiments that it can be tricky when thinking about how energy
transfer works with a thermometer. You spend some time thinking this through… if a thermometer
increases in temperature, then the chemical system has actually lost heat energy and the thermometer
is picking it up. The chemical system is exothermic (-q). If a thermometer decreases in temperature,
then the thermometer is losing energy to the chemical system, this means the system is absorbing heat
energy. The chemical system is endothermic (+q).
You also recall from previous studies that:
q= m x Cp x ∆T Cp (water) = 4.180 J/g°C ∆T= Tf -Ti m = mass for the entire reaction
system (water + salt)
Your available testing equipment includes:
2 test tubes 10 mL graduated cylinder Scales
2 Weigh boats Styrofoam insulating holder 2 stir rods
Thermometer DI water

You team has been given two particular salts: Calcium chloride (CaCl2) and Potassium nitrate (KNO3)
These are the salts you will be testing, so it is important to research some known information about
these salts. You first research their relationship between heat and enthalpy. Each salt requires a
different known value to calculate the enthalpy from the heat energy transferred. To calculate
enthalpy (∆H) from heat energy (q) we must use:
∆H = q For KNO3 x = .0085 For CaCl2 x = .0087
x
Another important factor to determine for these hot and cold packs is whether or not each reaction
would occur spontaneously. Spontaneous reactions are necessary if the reaction is going to work in a
 pack. You have obtained data from other experiments being performed at JPS
hot or cold ice
Chemical Inc. that provide you with some important information on the entropy of your salts:

For KNO3 ∆S = +115.85 J/K For CaCl2 ∆S = +44.6 J/K

SAFETY:
Potassium nitrate is a very strong oxidizer. There is a fire and explosion risk when it is heated or in
contact with organic material. It is a skin irritant. It is moderately toxic by ingestion. Do not heat or
touch this powder. Rinse immediately if spilled on the skin. Wash your hands after using.
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PROCEDURE:
1. Get the mass of your graduated cylinder:____________g
2. Fill graduated cylinder with 10 ml of DI water. Get the total mass of the cylinder + water and
subtract the mass of the cylinder (obtained in step 1) to get the mass of the water only. Record
mass of water in table 1.
3. Measure out about 1 gram of the salt (CaCl2) in a weigh boat. Record the actual mass of the
salt to two decimal places in table 1.
4. Pour the water into the test tube/insulating holder. Get an initial temperature of the water and
record in data table 1.
5. Add the salt to the test tube with the DI water. Stir with a stir rod to dissolve the salt and keep
the thermometer in to determine the final solution temperature. Record in table 1.
6. Calculate the temperature change of the system: -(Tfinal-Tinitial). [note: This needs to be -∆T
because what ever happens to the thermometer is the opposite of what is actually happening in
the chemical system. Recall the information earlier in the scenario about the thermometer.]
7. In the space provided in your calculation section, determine the q of the reaction and show
your work. Use the information in the problem/scenario section of this lab to properly set-up
your formula. Enter your final q value in table 1.
8. Repeat steps 2-7 for two more trials using the same salt. Record your data in table 1.
Calculate the average q for all three trials. Record your average in table 1.
9. Repeat steps 2-8 using KNO3 for each trial. Record all data in table 2.

DATA and CALCULATIONS:

Table 1: Data collection for determine heat and enthalpy changes for the dissolving of CaCl2
Trial Mass (g) of Mass (g) of Initial H2O Final Temp Heat (J) Energy
H2 O CaCl2 Temp (°C) Solution Change of lost or gained by
Temp (°C) System (°C) system.
-(Tf-Ti) q= m x Cp x ∆T
1
2
3
Avg.

Table 2: Data collection for determine heat and enthalpy changes for the dissolving of KNO3
Trial Mass (g) of Mass (g) of Initial H2O Final Temp Heat (J) Energy
H2 O KNO3 Temp (°C) Solution Change of lost or gained by
Temp (°C) System (°C) system.
-(Tf-Ti) q= m x Cp x ∆T
1
2
3
Avg.

Use this space below to show your calculation set-up and formulas used:
1. Calculate heat (q) of dissolving CaCl2: (record value in Table 1)
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
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Calculate heat (q) of dissolving KNO3 (record value in Table 2)
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

2. Now that you know the heat (q) of dissolving CaCl2, calculate the enthalpy change (∆H).
Record value in Table 3.

3. Now that you know the heat (q) of dissolving KNO3, calculate the enthalpy change (∆H).
Record value in Table 3.

4. Record the known entropy change (∆S) of each salt in Table 3.

5. Calculate the Gibb’s Free Energy (∆G) of dissolving CaCl2 at 25°C. Record in Table 3.

6. Calculate the Gibb’s Free Energy (∆G) of dissolving KNO3 at 25°C. Record in Table 3.

Table 3. Summary of the Thermodynamics of Dissolving Salts

Salt ∆H (J) ∆S (J/K) ∆G (J) @ 25°C
CaCl2
KNO3

CONCLUSIONS:
1. Does entropy increase of decrease for the dissociation of salts (dissolving)? _______________
2. Based on what you know about Gibb’s Free Energy values (∆G), is dissolving of CaCl2
spontaneous? ________ Is dissolving of KNO3 spontaneous? ________ Explain how you
know: __________________________________. Was this consistent with the lab? _______
3. Based on ∆H values, sketch an energy diagram for the dissociation of CaCl2 and KNO3:
Dissociation of CaCl2 Dissociation of KNO3

4. What do you conclude about being able to use either of these in a hot or cold pack? __________
_____________________________________________________________________________