Calorimetry

Heat of Solution of Ammonium Nitrate

Concepts
Calorimeters are designed to be well-insulated, so no heat is gained
from or lost to the surroundings. If no heating element is used to
introduce heat in the system, the total heat (q) for the entire calorimeter
system must equal zero. The total heat can be split into heats for each
component in the system.
Imagine a reaction in which solid ammonium nitrate (a component in
some fertilizers and an explosive) is dissolved in water to produce an
aqueous ammonium nitrate solution.
NH4NO3 (s) NH4+ (aq) + NO3- (aq)
The heat flow (qrxn) for this reaction is called the heat of solution for
ammonium nitrate. When the reaction is finished, the system contains
two substances, the calorimeter itself and the aqueous solution, and
there is a heat associated with each component. The heat balance for this
experiment is thus
0 = q = qrxn + qcal + qsoln
The basic strategy in calorimetry is to use a temperature change and a
heat capacity to determine a heat flow. In this experiment all substances
have the same initial and final temperatures.
qcal = Ccal T = Ccal ( Tf - Ti )
qsoln = Csoln T = msoln ssoln ( Tf - Ti )
One typically determines the heat capacity of the aqueous solution (Csoln)
from the mass of the solution (msoln) and the specific heat capacity of the
solution (ssoln). The mass of the solution is the sum of the masses of the
water and ammonium nitrate originally placed in the calorimeter. The
specific heat capacity of the aqueous solution is usually close to that of
pure water (4.184 J oC-1 g-1).

The objective of this experiment is to determine the heat of reaction (in

this case a heat of solution). The above equations can be combined and
rearranged to yield a working equation:
qrxn = - qcal - qsoln = - ( Ccal + msoln ssoln ) ( Tf - Ti )
Just as the heat capacity of a substance is an extensive property, so the
heat of solution is an extensive property. It is generally more convenient
to report intensive properties, thus the heat capacity of a substance is
usually reported as a specific heat capacity, that is, the heat capacity per
gram of substance. Similarly one can report a specific heat of solution,
which is the heat a solution per gram of solute. More commonly, though,
the molar heat of solution is reported. The molar heat of solution (Hsoln)
is the heat of solution (qrxn) per mole of solute (n).
qrxn
Hsoln =
n

Experiment
Objective:

Determine the molar heat of solution of ammonium nitrate.

Approach:

Dissolve a known mass of ammonium nitrate in a known mass of

water in a calorimeter.
Observe the temperature of the system before and after the dissolution
reaction occurs.
Calculate the change in temperature for the system.
Use the temperature change and heat capacities for the calorimeter
and aqueous solution to calculate the heat of solution.
Divide the heat of solution by the moles of ammonium nitrate to
obtain the molar heat of solution of NaCl.

Part 1
In this part of the experiment, the calorimeter is filled with 60.0 g of
water. A small sealed glass bulb containing 5.00 g of pure NH4NO3 is

placed in the calorimeter. The reaction is initiated by breaking the glass

bulb, allowing the NH4NO3 to dissolve in the water.
The heat capacity of the calorimeter (Ccal) is 153. J oC-1. The formula
weight of NH4NO3 is 80.04.

Part 2
Repeat the procedure in Part 1 for determining the heat of solution of
ammonium nitrate using different values for the mass of ammonium
nitrate and/or the mass of water. You should obtain the same heat
capacity as you did in Part 1.
Mass of
NH4NO3
6.00
g
Mass of
Water
60.
g

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