Student comments indicate that calorimetry is one of the most difficult labs currently in our General Chemistry sequence. Research was focused on developing a multi-week laboratory experiment for General Chemistry students to study and explore various aspects of calorimetry. The goal was to replace the current one-week calorimetry lab with a two-week lab allowing students to better process and understand the techniques of calorimetry.<br/><br/>In addition to the General Chemistry lab we have been able to add the concept of constant volume calorimetry to the allied health General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry course. Students have traditionally only used constant pressure calorimetry to measure the heat liberated from a burning nut. To include constant volume calorimetry, a video was produced showing the use of the bomb calorimeter and the data for burning the nut. By burning food in both calorimeters and determining the total calories obtained from each, students will be able to learn the differences in accuracy for each type. To further cement the concept of heat transfer, an inquiry lab related to heat transfer was developed for students to understand how different container materials insulate a system from its surroundings.<br/><br/>Analysis of student synthesized biodiesel and other organic samples allows the concept of calorimetry to be continued in the Organic Chemistry sequences, which helps validate its usefulness as an analytical tool. By bringing constant volume calorimetry into a variety of classes we can improve students’ understanding of heat transfer and analytical tools for measuring this transfer.

Toward a comprehensive integration of calorimetry across the curriculum

249th National Meeting (2015)

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