Accounting for Surroundings

[laurence14b2f]

Hi all! In calorimetry experiments, how do we correct for heat loss to the surroundings, especially in systems with high thermal conductivity? Thanks!

[505998141]

Use high-quality insulation materials around the calorimeter to reduce heat transfer to the surroundings. Perform calibration experiments using known heat sources or standard reactions to determine the heat loss correction factor for the calorimeter setup.

[305920501]

Hi! We actually use a calorimeter to purposely avoid heat lost to the surroundings during a reaction. Instead any heat lost in the system is held in the calorimeter, which is why we can say qcal = -q (of the reaction).