Experiment 2
Comparison of energy content (Btu) of ethanol with that of gasoline and diesel.
Purpose
If a fuel has a higher energy rating, the engine becomes more powerful and efficient. In this experiment, I wanted to know if ethanol had a higher Btu or energy content than gasoline and diesel today’s conventional fuels. If a fuel has a higher energy rating, the engine becomes more powerful and efficient.
Hypothesis
I hypothesized that ethanol would have the highest Btu, and that gasoline and diesel would have comparable Btu levels. I based my hypothesis on a recent study about ethanol in Race Cars where, Race Cars were 90% more powerful when running on ethanol, than gasoline.
Materials used
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Photo: Materials & Model used in Experiment 2. (Photo taken by Aseem Sharma , March 2007) |
14cm cotton wicks
3 aluminum bowls
Gasoline, diesel and E95
Steel rods
Matches
Candle
Measuring containers
Test tubes
Steel bowls
Instant read thermometer
16 ounces of water per trial
Variables
Independent variable: type of fuel
Dependent variable: Btu content
Constants: bowls, steel rods, amount of fuel, amount of water used, wick length
Procedure
- Cut cotton rope into 14cm pieces.
- Place steel rods on top of aluminum bowl.
- Fill steel bowl with 16 ounces of water, then set on top of rods.
- Soak 14cm wick in 5ml of fuel in a test tube.
- Take the initial temperature of the water.
- Set soaked wick in aluminum bowl, then light on fire.
- After the fire has died out take the after temperature of the water.
- Find the difference between the initial and after temperatures of the water to calculate the Btu.
- Conduct a total of six trials per fuel to produce accurate results.