Based on your class results is there a correlation between the strength of the acid and the amount of heat given off when it reacts with a base?
a) Compare the values of the heats of neutralization for the reactions of each acid with either sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or aqueous ammonia (NH₃). Can you make any correlation between the quantities of the heat given off and the fact that sodium hydroxide is a stronger base than ammonia (NH₃)? A negative ΔH indicates a process giving off heat, making it exothermic. Using the values collected throughout the experiment, there seems to be a trend between sodium hydroxide and aqueous ammonia, being that more heat is given off when the acids react with sodium hydroxide. From this we can infer that sodium hydroxide is a stronger base than ammonia, since the reactions between sodium hydroxide and
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Can you make any correlation between the quantities of the heat given off and the fact that acid strength decreases the following order: HCl ≈ HNO₃ > CH₃CO₃H > NH₄Cl > NaHCO₃? There is some correlation with the order of heat being given off and the decrease between acid strength, HCl ≈ HNO₃ > CH₃CO₃H > NH₄Cl > NaHCO₃, however, the trend stopped when sodium hydroxide reacted with ammonium chloride. Less heat was given off when sodium hydroxide reacted with ammonium chloride, disrupting the order considering that when sodium hydroxide reacts with sodium bicarbonate there is more heat given off. In order for there to any strong correlation the order should look more like this: HCl ≈ HNO₃ > CH₃CO₃H > NH₄Cl > NaHCO₃ > NH₄Cl.
c) Compare the values of the heats of the neutralization for the reactions of aqueous ammonia (NH₃) with each of the acids. Can you make any correlation between the quantities of the heat given off and the fact that acid strength decreases in the following order: HCl ≈ HNO₃ > CH₃CO₃H > NH₄Cl >