Zack Jarrett CHM 151 Lab 0800-1040 Instructor Husowitz 14-Feb-2007

Lab Report Determination of an Empirical Formula

I. Purpose of Experiment The purpose of this experiment is to determine the empirical formula of a sample of Copper Chloride (CuxCly)

II. Chemicals and Equipment Chemicals Unknown copper chloride, solid 1.0M Hydrochloric Acid Zn metal Distilled water Isopropyl Alcohol Equipment Steel wool 125 mL beaker Forceps Filter paper and funnel Kimwipes Watch glass Drying Oven Scale

III. Experimental Procedure NOTE: The following steps were performed for three samples (marked Red, Pink, and Yellow) simultaneously. 1. Measured out approximately 1.0 g CuxCly sample into a beaker. 2. Added approximately 25.0 mL 1.0M HCl to the beaker and stirred until CuxCly sample was completely dissolved. 3. Weighed a piece of Zn(s) metal and added to solution in beaker. 4. Stirred the solution and periodically scraped the plated Cu(s) from the piece of Zn until the solution above the Zn turned clear and the bubbling from the Zn almost completely ceased.

Zack Jarrett CHM 151 Lab 0800-1040 Instructor Husowitz 14-Feb-2007

5. Scraped all remaining Cu plating off of the Zn, then removed and dried the Zn solid with a kimwipe. 6. Weighed the Zn solid. 7. Weighed a piece of filter paper, then placed into a glass funnel over a beaker (see Figure 1) to create a filter system.

Figure 1

8. Poured solution bearing precipitated Cu into the filter system. Rinsed beaker with a small amount of 1.0M HCl to remove any remaining bits of Cu and poured solution into filter. 9. Rinsed precipitate in filter with distilled H20. 10. Rinsed precipitate in filter with 70% isopropyl alcohol in order to remove any remaining H20. 11. Weighed a watch glass. 12. Transferred filter paper bearing precipitate onto watch glass and inserted assembly into a 77 C drying oven for drying. 13. Removed assembly from drying oven at 5 minute intervals, weighing assembly with each removal. 14. Repeated the dry-weigh-dry process until three successive mass measurements within 0.05 g were observed.

Zack Jarrett CHM 151 Lab 0800-1040 Instructor Husowitz 14-Feb-2007

IV. Data Tables Recorded Masses: Sample Red Pink Mass (in g) of sample of CuxCly Mass (in g) of Zn piece, prior to use. Mass (in g) of Filter Paper Mass (in g) of Zn piece after removal Mass (in g) of watch glass Final mass (in g) of watch glass, filter paper, and precipitated Cu after drying Mass (in g) of filter paper after drying and removal of precipitate 0.998 0.644 0.619 0.095 44.227 45.465 0.623 0.998 0.712 0.630 0.152 44.299 43.547 0.628 Yellow 1.006 0.729 0.593 0.296 46.294 47.503 0.586

Recorded masses (watch-glass, filter paper, and precipitate) during drying period. Interval (in minutes) Sample Red Pink Yellow 5 47.954 46.493 49.992 10 47.201 45.033 49.180 15 46.203 44.217 48.221 20 45.901 43.736 47.895 25 45.572 43.600 47.575 30 45.493 43.555 47.510 35 45.461 43.555 47.503 40 45.465 43.547 47.503

Observation of Zn Pieces (post drying and weighing): Sample Observation Red 2 little flecks of Cu remaining on Zn 1 big (approximately 2 mm) chunk Cu on Zn. Scraped this chunk off and Pink weighed it; mass is 0.002 g. Yellow Many little, thin flecks of Cu on both sides of Zn V. Data Analysis

Zack Jarrett CHM 151 Lab 0800-1040 Instructor Husowitz 14-Feb-2007 The empirical formula for the sample of Copper Chloride can be determined through mathematical analysis of the recorded data, as follows. 1. The mass of the precipitated Cu can be found by subtracting the mass of the

watch glass and original filter paper from the mass of the entire drying assembly after drying. Mass of Cu Precipitated
Mass Drying Assembly Mass watch glass Mass filter paper = Mass Cu precipitated

Red Sample Pink Sample Yellow Sample

45.465 43.547 47.503

44.227 44.299 46.294

0.619 0.630 0.593

= = =

0.619 -1.382 0.616

NOTE: The Pink Sample results are obviously incorrect; we cannot have a negative quantity of Cu precipitated. From this point forward, the Pink Sample is disregarded and left out of all equations and analysis. See the conclusion for further discussion. 2. The mass of the Cl in CuxCly can be found by subtracting the mass of precipitated Cu from the mass of the original sample of CuxCly. Mass of Cl in sample (in g) Mass of Mass Cu sample - Precipitated = Mass Cl Red Sample 0.998 0.619 = 0.379 Yellow Sample 1.006 0.616 = 0.390 3. % Composition by mass of Cu and Cl in CuxCly can be found by dividing the mass of each element by the mass of the sample and multiplying the quotient by 100. % Composition Red Sample mass Cu mass Sample mass Cl 0.619 g Cu 0.998 g CuxCly 0.379 g Cl

= =

x 100 = x 100 =

62.0% Cu 38.0% Cl

Zack Jarrett CHM 151 Lab 0800-1040 Instructor Husowitz 14-Feb-2007 mass Sample Yellow Sample mass Cu mass Sample mass Cl mass Sample = 0.998 g CuxCly 0.616 g Cu 1.006 g CuxCly 0.390 g Cl 1.006 g CuxCly x 100 =

61.2% Cu

x 100 =

38.8% Cl

4. The empirical formula is found by converting the % composition to moles, then converting the results to whole numbers. Empirical Formula Red Sample

62.0% Cu x

1 mole Cu = 63.6 g Cu 1 mole Cl 35.5 g Cl =

0.975 mol Cu

/ 0.975 =

1 mol Cu

38.0% Cl x Yellow Sample

1.07 mol Cl

/ 0.975 =

1.1 mol Cl

61.2% Cu

x 1 mole Cu = 63.6 g Cu x 1 mole Cl 35.5 g Cl =

0.962 mol Cu

/ 0.962 =

1 mol Cu

38.8% Cl

1.09 mol Cl

/ 0.962 =

1.14 mol Cl

VI. Conclusion The purpose of this experiment was to determine the empirical formula of an unknown copper chloride substance. The experiment procedure required separating the two parts of the substance, then analyzing observed quantities of each. The results of the analysis of the observed data indicate that the empirical formula for the unknown sample of Copper Chloride is actually Cu1Cl1 or, more simply, CuCl, copper (I) chloride.

Zack Jarrett CHM 151 Lab 0800-1040 Instructor Husowitz 14-Feb-2007 The experiment worked as expected except in the case of the Pink Sample (see

Data analysis: 1). When performing analysis on the data I came to the unexpected result that my precipitate weighed less than nothing, even though common sense and direct observation prove this as impossible. The cause of the problem I believe to be human error in measuring the mass of the watch glass. I believe this to be the case because the measurements of the mass of the drying assembly are rational and follow a decreasing pattern throughout the drying period, proving precision and accuracy in measurement. There is no such body of evidence to prove that the weighing of the watch glass itself was performed with precision or accuracy. In addition, I was personally involved in weighing the drying assemblies, but did not directly observe the weighing of the watch glasses individually. Another possibility is that of human error on my own part in transcribing values from spoken word.

VII. References