What is the significance of heat of combustion? Just say I burned for example methane and propane to boil some water. Methane has the heat of combusion of 890KJ/mol and propane has the heat of combustion of 2200KJ/mol. What does the difference in heat of combustion tell us? In another words, propane's heat of combustion is bigger. Does that mean that propane will boil the water faster than methane? Thank you for your help

Expert Answers

| Certified Educator

See
This Answer Now

Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more. Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime.

Already a member? Log in here.

Heat of combustion is a measure of the amount of heat energy released when a given fuel is burned. The larger the number the more heat energy that is released in the burning process. The more heat energy released the faster a substance being heated will increase in temperature. It is similar to heating two pots of water on a stove using either methane or propane. If one burner is set on high, while the other is on low, it will take the burner set on low longer to heat the water because less heat energy is being applied to the water.

Approved by eNotes Editorial Team