Why the experimental error for CaOH is larger than MgO?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the larger experimental error observed for calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) compared to magnesium oxide (MgO) in a lab applying Hess's law. The main issue arises from the assumption that all calcium hydroxide formed was solid, while some of it likely dissolved, affecting the heat of formation calculations. Participants express confusion about how to quantify this impact and mention that previous calculations of percentage error do not apply here. There is also a concern about the clarity of the problem statement, as it contains errors that may lead to misunderstandings. Overall, the discussion highlights the complexities of accurately measuring heat changes in chemical reactions and the importance of precise assumptions in experimental design.
Alpha123
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Homework Statement



I did a lab on the experimental application of Hess's law. There were two experiments where a substance in a solution was dissolved and the temperatures were recorded. Then the standard heat of formation for the substance was calculated. The first experiment used MgO and HCL and the second experiment used CaOH and water.

A question in the lab was :

"Explain why the experimental error for the calcium error for the calcium hydroxide is much larger than magnesium oxide.In this experiment, it was assumed that the calcium hydroxide formed was in the solid form, whereas some of the solid that formed must have dissolved. Using this information, determine by calculation how much of an impact the above assumption had on the final experimental value for the heat of formation of calcium hydroxide."

I don't quite understand what calculation to do here, or an explanation for this either. It cannot be the percentage error as i have already calculated those in an earlier question. Any help on this question would be very much appreciated, thank you.
 
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Can you account for the discrepancy with an assumption of partial hydrolysis?
 
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I don't know what that means, we haven't learned it in class.
 
Sounds cryptic to me.

But to be honest - your post starts with CaOH instead of Ca(OH)2 and contains statements like

Alpha123 said:
the experimental error for the calcium error for the calcium hydroxide

so I am not convinced the problem is correctly represented.
 
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