Now we will calculate the amount of energy lost, compare this to the total energy consumed, and use these values to calculate the efficiency of the electrolysis process.
Measure the amount of water remaining in the apparatus. Record the volume of remaining water. Convert your measurement into cubic centimeters.
Step 2:
Subtract the original temperature from the final temperature in degrees centigrade.
Multiply this temperature difference by the number of cubic centimeters of water remaining after the experiment was conducted. This is the number of calories lost due to inefficiency. Record this value.
1 calorie = 0.00116 watt-hours. Use this conversion factor to convert the lost energy to watt- hours.
Step 3:
Multiply the voltage recorded across the electrodes, times the current through the electrodes, times the recorded amount of time the experiment ran. This is the total energy consumed by the experiment in watt-hours.
Divide the lost energy value from Step 2 by the total energy. Multiply the result by 100% to get the percent loss of the process.