Alcohol Burning Experiment

Planning Section:

Aim:

I am going to burn a variety of different of different alcohols from Methanol to Octanol in order to test how change in energy release relates to the increase of the number of carbon atoms.

Hypothesis:

Using my knowledge of chemistry, I can predict that the longer the hydrocarbon chain, the longer the hydrocarbon will burn for. This is because the longer chains have more C atoms so they will take longer to burn as there are more bonds to break.

Apparatus:

• Alcohols - used to provide fuel for combustion
• Splints- used to set the alcohol on fire
• Metal Beaker - used to carry the water
• Protective Glasses - to protect eyes from possible explosions
• Bunsen Burner - provides fire to light splints
• Thermometer- measures the change in temperature of the water.