Introduction: One way to produce magnesium oxide is by heating magnesium metal over a flame, causing the magnesium to react

with oxygen in the air. This method was used in this lab to produce magnesium oxide from a magnesium strip. To complete the lab, an understanding of a few formulas was necessary. To determine the percentage composition of a compound, the formula %x = ((molar mass of x) / (total mass of compound)) (100) where x represents an element in the compound, is used. To determine the empirical formula (E.F.) of a compound, the ratio of the amount (in moles) of each element in the compound must be calculated. To calculate the amount of moles of each element in the compound, the formula (mass of x in compound) / (molar mass of x) where x represents an element in the compound, is used. To determine the molecular formula (M.F.) of a compound, the formula ((molar mass of x) / (E.F. mass of compound)) (E.F.) where x represents an element in the compound, is used. The purpose of this lab was to determine the percentage composition and empirical formula of magnesium oxide. The purpose of this lab was to examine how empirical and molecular formulas are directly related to the mass and percent composition of a given compound. The percent composition and empirical formula of magnesium oxide is to be calculated. Hypothesis: The percentage composition of magnesium oxide will be approximately 60.31% Mg and 39.69% O2 and the molecular formula will be MgO. Materials: - Retort stand - Bunsen burner - Crucible (with lid) - Distilled water - Flint spark lighter - Crucible tongs - Clay triangle - Electronic balance - Ring clamp - Glass rod - 8cm strip of magnesium ribbon - Safety goggles

Procedure: This lab required many materials; the first step of the procedure was to acquire the necessary materials and assemble the retort stand and ring clamp apparatus. An 8cm strip of magnesium was obtained and cleaned with steel wool to remove any oxide coating. Each individual involved in the lab put on safety goggles. Next, the mass of the empty crucible and lid was measured using the electronic balance and recorded in a table. The mass of the crucible and lid with the magnesium inside was then measured and recorded in a table. A clay triangle was placed onto the ring clamp and the crucible was placed onto the clay triangle. The magnesium strip was placed in the crucible and the lid was placed on the crucible in a way which left a small portion uncovered. A Bunsen burner was placed directly underneath the crucible and was turned on to the medium-heat, complete combustion, setting. The crucible remained heated on this setting for several minutes before the heat was turned to maximum. The crucible lid was moved slightly, using crucible tongs, to allow more air to enter the crucible. If smoke was coming out of the crucible, the space above the crucible was slightly lessened by moving the lid back over the

space to reduce the amount of air entering the crucible. This continued- repeatedly uncovering more space of the crucible by moving the lid- until the lid could be removed without any smoke being produced. Once the lid was removed from the crucible it was placed, using the crucible tongs, onto the metal edge of the sink. The crucible was then heated for several minutes without the lid on. When the crucible had been heated for a sufficient amount of time, it was placed beside the crucible lid on the metal edge of the sink using crucible tongs and the Bunsen burner was turned off. Once the crucible was cool enough to touch, it was placed on the counter and the magnesium contents were ground into small particles using the glass rod. Any particles left on the glass rod, once the product was ground to small enough particles, were rinsed off into the crucible using distilled water. Distilled water was then added to the crucible until the contents were thoroughly wetted. The crucible was then returned to the clay triangle and covered with the lid. Once again, a small space was left open to allow oxygen to enter the crucible. The Bunsen burner was then turned on to medium heat in order to gently heat the crucible. Once the contents of the crucible began to boil, the Bunsen burner was turned on to maximum heat. The crucible was heated until all of the water inside had evaporated and the contents were dry. The Bunsen burner was then turned off and the crucible and crucible lid were again placed on the metal edge of the sink. Once the crucible and crucible lid were cool enough to touch, they were placed on the electronic balance. The weight of the crucible and its contents, as well as the lid, was measured and recorded in a table. The contents of the crucible were then disposed of into the garbage and the crucible was rinsed out. All pieces of equipment that were heated were allowed to cool and all of the materials were put away. Observations:

Mass of Materials Measured Table 1. Materials Measured Clean, empty crucible and lid Crucible, lid and magnesium Crucible, lid and magnesium oxide Mass (g) 19.20 19.34 19.44

The initial measurement of the empty crucible and lid was 19.20g. The crucible and lid with the magnesium strip weighed 19.34g. The crucible and lid with the final product of magnesium oxide weighed 19.44g. When the magnesium strip was being heated, it produced a smoke if too much oxygen was allowed to enter the crucible. Once water was added to the product in the cooled crucible, the top layer became an orange colour, while the bottom remained gray. Once the wetted product was heated and the water evaporated, the product was dry and gray; the orange colour was not present.

Calculations: 0.14g of magnesium was used in the reaction of magnesium oxide with air. 19.34g 19.20g = 0.14g 0.10g of oxygen reacted with the 0.14g of magnesium to produce 0.24g of magnesium oxide. 19.44g 19.20g = 0.24g 19.44g 19.34g = 0.10g Of the 0.24g of magnesium oxide produced, 58.3% was composed of magnesium and 41.7% was composed of oxygen. %Mg = 0.14g / 0.24g = 0.583 = 58.3% %O2 = 0.10g / 0.24g = 0.417 = 41.7% The empirical formula for the magnesium oxide produced was MgO. (0.14g Mg) / (24.31g) = 0.00575895 mol Mg (0.10g O2) / (16g) = 0.00625 mol O2 Mg : O2 = 0.0058 : 0.0063 = ( 0.0058 / 0.0058) : ( 0.0063 / 0.0058 ) = 1 : 1.08 =1:1 E.F. = MgO The predicted empirical formula was the exact same as the empirical formula that was obtained with the calculations using the actual measurements. Assume 100g (60.3g Mg) / (24.31g) = 2.48 mol Mg (39.7g O2) / (16g) = 2.48 mol O2 Mg : O2 = 2.48 : 2.48 =1:1 E.F. = MgO

It is important to note that the percent error, as per calculations from the measurements recorded during this lab, is about 6.63%. %Mg = 24.31 / 40.31 = 0.603 = 60.3% %Mg = 0.14g / 0.24g = 0.583 = 58.3% %Error = (58.3 60.3) / 60.3 * 100 = -6.63% Discussion: When the distilled water was added to the crucible, it was to convert the magnesium nitride to magnesium oxide. The magnesium in the crucible reacted with nitrogen in the air to become a product of about 90% magnesium oxide and 10% magnesium nitride (Ophardt, 2003). It was interesting to see that the empirical formula that was predicted was the same as the actual empirical formula. Also, the calculated percentage composition was very close to the actual percentage composition of an ideal sample of MgO. The empirical formula obtained from the calculations from the measurements of this lab needed to be rounded to the nearest whole number because there can not be less than a whole atom in any compound. The reaction of magnesium with oxygen gas can be written in a chemical formula: 2Mg + O2 2MgO. It is important to note that the experiment, just like the chemical formula, showed and proved the law of conservation of mass. The mass of the reactants in the experiment (0.14g Mg and 0.10g O2) weighed the same as the mass of the products (0.24g Mg). If some magnesium oxide smoke had been allowed to escape, this would have changed the recorded amount of magnesium oxide produced and would have made the product weigh less than it did. This would have made the calculations of percent composition inaccurate. This is because the ratio of Mg to O2 would be too high (Mg would have a higher composition than the expected 60(ish)%. This is because magnesium weighs more than oxygen and we know that there was 0.14g of magnesium in the crucible to begin with. Suppose 0.5g of MgO escaped in the smoke. The final product would weigh about 0.19g instead of 0.24 (.14g of which is magnesium). The ratio of magnesium to oxide would be 0.14g : 0.5g, instead of the actual 0.14g : 0.10g. Had all the magnesium not burned in the crucible, the calculated value for the empirical formula for magnesium oxide would have been incorrect. This is because the product would not be entirely magnesium oxide; it would be magnesium plus magnesium oxide, meaning that there is less oxygen in the product than there is supposed to be. Suppose 0.5g of magnesium had not burned. The product would have weighed about 0.20g (.4g less than it should have) because there is less oxygen present. This would calculate to a ratio of 0.14g : 0.6g and would have made the empirical formula about Mg2O. The results that were produced in this lab could easily have been affected by the effects caused by losing too much magnesium oxide gas from the crucible. When the crucible lid was repeatedly moved

over more and more on the crucible to allow more oxygen in, some smoke did in fact get out. However, only a small amount of smoke escaped from the crucible so the results of the experiment would not have been drastically affected. Another error that might have occurred in this experiment is the exact mass of magnesium not being calculated as accurately as possible (due to the electronic measure not being as sensitive as higher-grade electronic measures), which would have led to inaccurate percentage composition calculations. If this lab were to be done again, it would be interesting to get a first-hand look at how the empirical formulas would change if the smoke was allowed to escape or if the magnesium strip did not completely react with the oxygen in the air. Conclusion: The percentage composition of magnesium oxide was 58.3% Mg and 41.7% O2 and the empirical formula of magnesium oxide was MgO. References:
Ophardt, C. E. (2003). Formation of ionic magnesium compounds. Retrieved from http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/143Amgoxide.html