How does the chain length of

an alcohol (methanol,
ethanol, propanol, and
butanol) affects the heat of
combustion when burned
under lab conditions of
temperature and pressure?
Table of Contents

RATIONALE........................................................................................................................................................................2
RESEARCH QUESTION........................................................................................................................................................3
HOW DOES THE CHAIN LENGTH OF AN ALCOHOLS (METHANOL, ETHANOL, PROPANOL, AND BUTANOL) AFFECT THE HEAT
OF COMBUSTION BURNED UNDER THE LAB CONDITION OF TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE?............................................3
MODIFICATION TO THE METHODOLOGY...........................................................................................................................4
SAFETY AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS............................................................................................................................4
QUALITATIVE OBSERVATIONS...........................................................................................................................................4
RAW DATA........................................................................................................................................................................4
PROCESSED DATA..............................................................................................................................................................5
TRENDS, PATTERNS, AND RELATIONSHIPS.........................................................................................................................6
LIMITATIONS OF EVIDENCE...............................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................................................................8
SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS AND EXTENSIONS...............................................................................................................8
REFERENCE LIST.................................................................................................................................................................9
BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................................................................9
Rationale
An experiment was conducted in class “Measuring the enthalpy of a reaction”. It determined the enthalpy changes of
chemical reactions by calorimetry. Calorimetry is the process of measuring the amount of heat released or absorbed during a
chemical reaction and is used to calculate the enthalpy change of the reaction. The experiment was conducted in four parts,
with each part involving a different type of reaction. In Part A, a neutralization reaction between HCl and NaOH was used.
In Part B, an acid and metal oxide reaction between HCl and MgO was used. In Part C, an acid and metal carbonate reaction
between HCl and MgCO3 was used. In Part D, a displacement reaction between CuSO4 solution and zinc was used. Some
limitations on the accuracy of the data included or potentially came from some random errors made during the experiment
such as not putting on the lid quickly after the second reactant was added. Therefore, additional amounts of heat could
escape.

The purpose of conducting this new experiment was to determine how different types of alcohols affect the heat of
combustion. It differed from the initial experiment in that there was further control to reduce the energy lost to the
environment through maximum insulation. The four alcohols being used in the modified experiment are methanol, ethanol,
propanol, and butanol. These alcohols were chosen because they are representative of different lengths of carbon chains, and
thus, have different molecular structures and properties. Alcohols were chosen as the fuel source for the modified experiment
because it is a common fuel that is widely used in society, and the combustion of alcohol is a well-studied and important
process in both industrial and biological systems. Fuels are substances that release energy when they undergo combustion,
which is a chemical reaction that typically involves the breaking of chemical bonds and the formation of new ones. Different
fuels have different energy contents, which can be measured in terms of the heat of combustion.

As the number of carbons in the alcohol molecule increases, the number of intramolecular bonds also increases. When
alcohol is burned completely in oxygen, carbon dioxide and water molecules are formed. Bond breaking requires energy
(endothermic reactions) whereas bond formation will release energy (exothermic reactions). More bonds will be formed in
the products if the number of carbon atoms in the alcohol is increased. Thus, more heat will be released when an alcohol
with a greater number of carbon atoms is burned (Veerendra, 2022). The chemical structures of the four alcohols are shown
below:
The amount of thermal energy released when alcohol is burned can be calculated using the following formula:

Q=MC ∆ T

Where Q is the amount of energy released, M is the mass of the water, C is the specific heat capacity of water and ∆ T is
the change in temperature of the water.

A combustion reaction is a chemical change in which an element or a compound reacts with oxygen, often producing energy
in the form of heat and light (Kondratiev, 2023). This reaction always involves oxygen and often a hydrocarbon as a
reactant. The complete combustion of a hydrocarbon produces carbon dioxide and water as shown in the following equation:

Hydrocarbon + O2(g) →CO2(g) + H2O(g)

The heat of combustion of a substance is the heat liberated when 1 mole of the substance, in this case, the alcohol, undergoes
complete combustion with oxygen. The heat evolved in this heat of the combustion reaction is a measure of the amount of
energy stored in the C-C and C-H bonds of the hydrocarbon compared to the energy stored in the products, carbon dioxide
and water. The complete combustion equation of the four alcohols is shown below (Aus-e-tute, 2021):

Methanol: 2CH₃OH(l) + 3O₂(g) → 2CO₂(g) + 4H₂O(l)

Ethanol: C2H5OH(l) + 3O2(g) → 2CO2(g) + 3H2O(l)
Propanol: 2C3H7OH(l) + 9O2(g) → 6CO2 (g) + 8H2O(l)
Butanol: C4H9OH (l) + 6O2 (g) → 4CO2 (g) + 5H2O (l)

In summary, the experimental heat of combustion ∆ H of alcohol can be calculated using the following formula (Science
Ready, 2023):
Q
∆ H=
n

Where ∆ H is the heat of combustion, Q is the heat released during the combustion reaction (in J or kJ), and n is the number
of moles of the substance burned. This formula shows the heat of combustion therefore it can be compared with the
theoretical value. As the carbon series increases, the heat of combustion also increases. By conducting this experiment with
different alcohols, more precise and reliable data can be collected to help analyze the results and ultimately deduce the
relationship between the chain length of the alcohol and their heat of combustion.

Research question
How does the chain length of an alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol) affect the heat of combustion burned
under the lab condition of temperature and pressure?
Modification to the methodology
Redirected by:
- Altering the reactants from acids to combustible alcohols to investigate combustion rather than neutralisation can
provide a more relevant and informative experiment
- Using four alcohols with different carbon chain lengths (methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol) to investigate
the relationship between the heat of combustion and the chain length of the alcohol.

Refined by:
- Utilising a 200 ± 5ml measuring cylinder instead of a beaker to ensure a more precise measurement of the volume
of alcohol used in the experiment
- For each alcohol (methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol), three trials were carried out so that more reliable results
could be obtained, reducing the likelihood of experimental error

Extended by:
- Using a spirit burner for fuels (Figure 1) rather than making the reaction occur in the calorimeter to investigate the
combustion of alcohol fuels more accurately. This modification can measure the heat energy released during the
combustion reaction, providing a better understanding of the fuel's energy content

Figure 1 – experimental setup

Safety and ethical considerations

Qualitative observations
When the alcohols were burned, a non-luminous blue flame could be seen. However, the flame would become more yellow
from methanol to butanol. Moreover, Butanol has the largest flame.

Raw data
Table 1: Raw data for 4 different alcohols

The values highlighted in red are identified as outliers because they are between 20-80% larger or smaller than the other 2
measurements. Time made it impossible to repeat these unsuccessful trials. These values will not be included in the
calculation and graph.
Processed data
The raw data were processed to determine the change in mass for all trials, uncertainty, percentage uncertainty and heat of
combustion using the equation specified in Table 2. In order to assess the accuracy and reliability of the experimental
procedure, the measurement uncertainty was converted into percentage uncertainty and propagated. The obtained results
were plotted using a spreadsheet application to analyze the trends. However, it should be noted that the change in mass for
Ethanol, Propanol, and Butanol in trial 3 cannot be considered reliable as it differs significantly from the results of other
trials. Generally, results with an uncertainty of 10% or less are considered reliable.

Table 2: Sample calculation

Table 3: Processed data for heat of combustion

Graph 1: Theoretical value and experimental value for heat of combustion for Methanol, Ethanol, Propanol, Butanol

Trends, patterns, and relationships

Graph 1 was a scatter plot that showed and presented the dependent variable, the heat of combustion against the independent
variable carbon number. Both trends show a clear negative linear relationship between carbon numbers and heat of
combustion. The amount of heat given out when 1 mole of the alcohol was burned was directly proportional to the number
of carbon atoms in the alcohol. This relationship was derived from the experimental data and was reflected in the trend line,
which had been fitted to the data with a high coefficient of r2 value is 0.9674, indicating a strong negative correlation
between these variables. The experimental and theoretical results showed that the heat of combustion increased as the
carbon chain length of the alcohol increased. However, the experimental values of the heat of combustion for each alcohol
were slightly lower than the theoretical values. This suggested that there may be some sources of error in the measurements,
such as incomplete combustion or heat loss to the surroundings during the experiment which were further discussed in the
limitations. Moreover, the small difference between the experimental and theoretical values suggested that the measurements
were still precise, accurate and reliable. For instance, the theoretical value of methanol was -726 kJ/mol, and the
experimental value was -643.712kJ/mol while for ethanol the theoretical value was -1367kJ/mol, and the experimental value
was -1014.265 kJ/mol. The data points appeared to be closely clustered around the trend line, indicating that the
measurement were likely taken with a high degree of accuracy.
Comparing the experimental value to the theoretical value and its percentage error

Based on the calculation, all the percentage errors for the alcohols tested were larger than 10%. This suggested that the heat
of combustion of each alcohol obtained from the experiment is considered unreliable. Although the calculated values were
slightly lower than the accepted values, the percentage error is relatively high, indicating that there may have been some
systematic errors or uncertainties in the measurement process. Therefore, further investigation or refinement of the
experimental method may be required to improve the accuracy of the results. A percentage error of less than 10% is
generally considered acceptable in most scientific experiments.

Limitations of evidence
Conclusion
Based on the results obtained from the experiment, it could be concluded that the chain length of alcohol (methanol, ethanol,
propanol, and butanol) does affect the heat of combustion when burned under lab conditions of temperature and pressure.
Although the minor limitations of this experiment such as random error would lead to less precise and weaker findings, the
general notion that a rise in carbon number would result in an increase in heat of combustion was supported. Despite the
limitations, the overall trend observed in the data supports the hypothesis, a further investigation could be conducted to
identify the sources of error and improve the precision of the measurement.

Suggested improvements and extensions

For the experiment to have a more valid and accurate result, improvements and extensions will be documented and listed. A
more valid and accurate trend of the data can be determined with fewer liabilities and errors in the experiment.

 To reduce the amount of error made during this experiment, the number of trials conducted could also be extended
to 5 trials or more, it could help determine the trend and relationship of the result and highlights more outliers that
affect the result. This would help to improve the accuracy and precision of the results and provide a more valid
trend of the data.
 Using a temperature probe to measure the temperature and technology software to graph the full temperature
difference would provide more accurate and reliable results, as it would eliminate any potential random error in
measuring and recording the temperature. This would help to highlight a strong relationship between the heat of
combustion and carbon number
 The experiment can be extended by including more alcohols so that more data points can be obtained. The
trendline obtained will better reflect the trend between the heat of combustion and the number of carbon atoms in
the alcohol.
 Calibrating the equipment: Such as an electronic balance, before starting an experiment is crucial for ensuring
accurate and reliable measurements. When a piece of equipment is calibrated, it means that its accuracy has been

checked and adjusted to match a known standard. This is to ensure that the readings provide during the experiment
are correct and precise.