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Dystan Medical Supply Company: Cold and Hot Packs

By Andrew Haas & Isaac Nielson


Chemistry 1225
March 25, 2015

Introduction
Hot and Cold packs are used all over the United states to treat temporary pain.
Each of these Hot and Cold packs contain two separate compartments. One
compartment contains a type of salt, while the other contains water. When the pack is
used the salt mixes with the water and can produce an exothermic reaction or an
endothermic reaction. If is an exothermic reaction it releases heat which is absorbed by
the surroundings, and is a hot pack. If it is an endothermic reaction then it absorbs heat
from the surroundings and is a cold pack.
For this experiment four different types of salt will be used. These salts include
ammonium nitrate, calcium chloride, lithium chloride, and potassium chloride. These
salts will be tested to determine which would be the most effective and profitable for
being used in hot and cold packs. It is important that each hotpack will cost no more
than $5.00 so that the company can make a profit.
Calorimetry can be used to determine the molar heat of reaction of each
chemical by measuring the change in temperature from the addition of salt to water. In
order to perform calorimetry, a calorimeter is needed. A calorimeter is a device that
measures the heat of a reaction while containing the reactants.For this lab, two
styrofoam cups will be used as a calorimeter because they have insulation and prevent
heat exchange with the surroundings. First the reactants are placed in the calorimeter.
Then the reaction is started, and the temperature before and after the reaction is
measured. The difference in the temperatures allows one to evaluate the amount of
heat that is released in the reaction. For this lab, one gram of each type of salt will be
added to separate batches of 25 milliliters of distilled water in order to determine the

mass of salt required to reach the desired temperatures of 0 C for the cold pack and
65C for the hot pack in a 100 milliliter solution.

Procedure:
List of reagents:
Ammonium Nitrate
Calcium Chloride
Lithium Chloride
Potassium Chloride
Part A: Determining the calorimeter constant
Begin to boil ~200mL of water in in order to save time, this will be used later on.
Make sure that the hot plate that is being used is at least two feet away from the
workstation.
Obtain two styrofoam cups and a lid, and place the cups inside each other to
build a calorimeter. Also obtain a magnetic stirrer, stir bar and a temperature probe. Put
45-50 grams of tap water into the calorimeter, and measure the mass of this water.
Next, set up the temperature probe by using a 2-hole stopper and securing a ring stand
with a utility clamp, and inserting the probe through the hole in the lid. Place the stir bar
inside of the calorimeter.
Pour exactly 50 mL of hot water into a graduated cylinder, and assume that the
density of water is 1.00 g/mL. Ensure that the temperature of the hot water is at least
45-60 C above room temperature. Begin recording the thermogram on the MeasureNet
workstation and turn on the power to the magnetic stirrer, setting it to a medium-low
setting. Quickly and carefully pour the hot water into the calorimeter and replace the lid.

Once the temperature of the water has increased and then reached an equilibrium, stop
the thermogram and save it. Repeat this process once more in order to determine the
calorimeter constant. That constant can be determined by using:
CCalorimeter=( -(mwarm water * Cwarm water * Twarm water) - (mcool water * Ccool water * Tcool water))
divided by the Tcool water. It should also be noted that the specific heat of both warm
and cool water is 4.18 J/gC.

Part B: Determining the molar heat of salt-based reactions


Obtain 1 gram of each of the four salts: ammonium nitrate, calcium chloride, lithium
chloride and potassium chloride. Record the mass of each of the salts. Use the same
calorimeter that was used in determining the calorimeter constant. Prepare 25 milliliters
of distilled water and record the mass of the water. Prepare to pour one of the salts into
the calorimeter. Press start on the MeasureNet station then wait approximately 5
seconds before adding the salt to the calorimeter. Record the temperature changes and
press stop when the temperature begins to stabilize. Repeat the previous steps for a
second trial, and repeat with other salts. To determine which salt is the most effective for
either the hot or cold packs, look at the temperature change in the graph plots received
from each trial. The exothermic reactions, result in an increase in temperature and are
the kind of chemicals used in hot packs. Endothermics reactions, result in a decrease in
temperature, and are used for cold packs.

Part C: Dystan Medical Company Profits:


Finally, one must calculate how effective these salts are for hot and cold packs. Once
the effectiveness is determined by grams per 100 mL of water. Then the cheapest pack

can be determined by using the data given by the company, while keeping in mind that
the cold pack must reach 0 degrees celsius and the heat pack must reach 65 degrees
celsius.

Results:
Part A:
Twarm water

Tcool water

Mass of warm H2O

Mass of cool H2O

51g

49g

94 C

23.3 C

48g

49g

96 C

27.7 C

CCalorimeter=( -(mwarm water * Cwarm water * Twarm water) - (mcool water * Ccool water * Tcool water)) /
Tcool water
CCalorimeter= 155.76 J/C

Part B:
For 1 gram in 25 mL of water
T (NH4)(NO3)

T CaCl2

T LiCl

T KCl

-1.4922 C

2.4894 C

3.3483 C

-1.1568 C

-1.5447 C

2.4648 C

3.3823 C

-1.0899 C

Using ratios, it is possible to determine how many grams of each salt is needed to get
the desired change in temperature. This amount can then be checked for cost
effectiveness using the given price values.

Part C:
Base cost per unit (including labor cost, capital and plastic bag): $1.28
In order to make a profit, cost < $5.00

Cost of 500
grams of salt

(NH4)(NO3)

CaCl2

LiCl

KCl

$26.20

$31.70

$65.00

$28.19

Cost of the cheapest cold pack: $2.16 for NH4 NO3


Cost of the cheapest hot pack: $2.30 for CaCl 2
Will Dystan make a profit? If so, how much? : Yes, For the cold packs $2.84 per cold
pack and $2.70 for each hot pack.

Discussion:
The results from this experiment were used to determine which salts are the most
suitable for the creation of cold and hot packs. Calcium Chloride and the Ammonium
Nitrate were found to be the more effective salts due to their greater changes in
enthalpy and their lower prices. The results from our trials were accurate although when
we found the calorimeter constant, the first and second trial result greatly differed. This
could be because of a large variety of factors which may have included incorrect
temperature or mass measurements. These errors could have been avoided by making
sure that the styrofoam cup was completely dried before each trial. Also a possible
factor was the cooling down of the hot water before it was placed in the calorimeter.

One possible way to avoid this would be to measure the temperature of the hot water
after we poured the 50 mL into the calorimeter. Also when pouring the salt into the
calorimeter, it is possible that if the entire mass of the salt was not added to the solution,
that the calculated heat from the reaction would be different from the actual value.

Bibliography:
Experiments in General Chemistry by Stanton, Zhu and Atwood.

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