Question

A bomb calorimeter, or a constant volume calorimeter, is a device often used to determine the heat of combustion of fuels and the energy content of foods.

In an experiment, a 1.4170 g sample of L-ascorbic acid (C₆H₈O₆) is burned completely in a bomb calorimeter. The calorimeter is surrounded by 1.354×10³ g of water. During the combustion the temperature increases from 24.92 to 27.68 °C. The heat capacity of water is 4.184 J g^-1°C^-1.

The heat capacity of the calorimeter was determined in a previous experiment to be 890.1 J/°C.

Assuming that no energy is lost to the surroundings, calculate the molar heat of combustion of L-ascorbic acid based on these data.

C₆H₈O₆(s) + 5O₂(g)  4 H₂O(l) + 6 CO₂(g) + Energy

Molar Heat of Combustion = kJ/mol

Answer 1