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posted by  J.F on 10/27/2007 8:58:19 PM  |  status: Live  

Is is hot or Cold? I'm really not sure.

Course Textbook Chapter Problem
General Chemistry Chemistry: The Central Science (10th) by Brown, Lemay, Bursten N/A N/A
Question Details:

  LiOH (s)= Li (aq) + OH (aq)

I got that this reaction has a negative heat capacity that makes it exothermic. So out LiOH and  CaCl2 , which would be better to use as a hot or cold pack if the enthalpy of hydration for CaCl2 is -77 kJ/mol and the heat capacity for the calorimeter is 547 J/C?

I think that LiOH would be better to use because I got a bigger exothermic calculation out of it. Then again I'm not sure. If you answer this question please show your work because I want to be sure of what I'm doing. Thanks to whoever can help.

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posted by jay-jay on 10/29/2007 5:01:09 PM  |  status: Live
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J.F's comment:
"OOHHHH! I get it"
Response Details:
 I had the same question on one of my exams. First calculate the heat capacity of LiOH and then compare that value to the heat capacity of CaCl2. Use this equation:
 
q(heat of reaction) =  -Ccal (caloromiter constant) x ΔT (temperature change)
 
Since the value of LiOH is negative the reaction is exothermic, and an exothermic reaction would be better used for a hot pack because it adds heat to the system. The bigger the heat of the exothermic reaction the better the hot pack is. so when you get your answer for LiOH compare it to CaCl2 then decide which is better. I hope this helps.
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