IMAGE. Representative equipment used in coffee cup calorimetry (from left to right) Styrofoam™ coffee cup,two-hole cork, glass rod stirrer, thermometer.
A coffee cup calorimeter is a useful, simple device
that can be used to measure the temperature change that accompanies a reaction. A Styrofoam™ cup is used because it is a good insulator. The cup will absorb (or supply) negligible amounts of heat during most General Chemistry experiments. Thus, any change in temperature is assumed to be due only to the reaction, and the heat transferred in the reaction may be calculated.
