Question

(a) What assumptions, approximation, or generalization do we make about peanut oil for the the purposes of estimating the calorie content of nut?

(b) Briefy describe the sources of experimental error when burning a peanut and then using a calorimeter to estimate the amount of energy released.

Answer 1

a). The assumptions that we make about the peanut oil for the purposes of estimating calorie content of nut include,

1 peanut = 1g

1 oz = 28.35 g

1 cup = 146 g

b). Assuming we are using bomb calorimeter for the estimation of calorie content of nut, the possible experimental errors include,

1). During the measurement if nut mass

2). During the measurement of temperature increase of the calorimeter

3). Errors that occur during instruments calibration.