Including n or m in "q" Equation

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MadisonFuentes1G
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Including n or m in "q" Equation

Postby MadisonFuentes1G » Thu Mar 14, 2019 12:27 pm

I have seen some problems worked out where neither moles nor mass are included in the equation involving heat capacity (q=nC(deltaT)). Can someone explain why that is?

Chem_Mod
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Re: Including n or m in "q" Equation

Postby Chem_Mod » Thu Mar 14, 2019 8:04 pm

Example is 8.25 in the 6th edition.

The heat capacity of the calorimeter is q/delta T, which gives us units of kJ/K.
If we did an experiment with a new reaction and observed the change in temperature, we could multiply delta T by calorimeter heat capacity to get q (heat transferred). We don't need mass or moles because we are looking at the temperature change of the calorimeter, and not the mass nor the moles of reactants.

Tyler Angtuaco 1G
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Re: Including n or m in "q" Equation

Postby Tyler Angtuaco 1G » Wed Jan 29, 2020 4:46 pm

We wouldn't need n or m if we were only attempting to find the heat capacity of a substance in general. We would need it, however, if we were curious about the (specific) heat capacity of a sample of this substance.


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