Bomb Calorimeter

•Used to measure enthalpy changes of

combustion reactions at a constant volume

•Occurs inside a tiny inner metal chamber called

a bomb

•The bomb contains pure oxygen, the reactants

are ignited using an electric coil

•A known quantity of water surrounds the bomb

and absorbs energy that is released by the
reaction
 Bomb Calorimetry
• To obtain precise heat measurements, you
must know or find out the heat capacity of
the bomb calorimeter
• Heat capacity takes into account all the
parts of the calorimeter that can lose or
gain.
ctotal= cwater + cthermometer + cstirrer + ccontainer
 Bomb Calorimetry
• Since mass of the other parts are
constant, there is no need for the mass
units in the heat capacity value.
Manufacturers include the heat capacity
(C) of a calorimeter when it is purchased.

Therefore, qcal= CΔT

C= heat capacity of the calorimeter