12-11-09

C period
Chemical Reactions Lab Report

Purpose

The purpose of this lab was to expose ourselves to a variety of chemical reactions, and at the
same time to practice following oral directions, note-taking, and making/recording quality
observations.

Materials

– Aqueous solutions of:

.1M Fe(NO3)2
.1M CoCl2
.1M AgNO3
.1M Pb(NO3)2
.1M KI
3M NaOH
3M HCl

– Beakers
– Disposal Pipettes (labeled for each solution)
– Water
– Test tubes
– Test tube holder
– Water droppers for each compound reactant
– Instruction sheets
– Student goggles and aprons

Safety

All chemicals in this laboratory can be toxic and/or irritating. Please follow these safety
precautions:

– Wear goggles at all times.

– Wear aprons at all times.
– Tie-back long hair
– Roll-up sleeves
– Avoid wearing thick jackets that may get in the way or come into contact with a
chemical.
– Wash skin immediately if contact is made with any solution.

Procedure

1. Thoroughly rinse out all empty test tubes and beakers to ensure that they are clean at
the start of the experiments.
2. Put each of the reactants into a test tube, and label them with the chemical formula.
3. Set a separate water dropper into each of the test tubes filled with chemicals and use
these when a chemical is needed, as to not get any compounds mixed together.
 4. Write down some qualitative observations for all the reactants that will be used in the
experiments.
5. Place 10 drops of .1M Pb(NO3)2 and 1 drop of 3M NaOH into the same test tube.
6. Record any observations on the products formed by the reaction.
7. Place the test tube with the products of the reaction into the test tube holder.
8. Place 10 drops of .1M AgNo3 and 1 drop of 3M NaOH into the same test tube.
9. Repeat steps 6 and 7.
10. Place 10 drops of .1M AgNO3 and 1 drop of 3M HCl into the same test tube.
11. Repeat steps 6 and 7.
12. Place 10 drops of .1M AgNO3 and 10 drops of .1M KI into the same test tube.
13. Repeat steps 6 and 7.
14. At this point, make and record another set of observations of the products produced
by the first three reactions.
15. Place 10 drops of .1M Fe(NO3)2 and 2 drops of 3M NaOH into the same test tube.
16. Repeat steps 6 and 7.
17. Place 10 drops of .1M CoCl2 and 2 drops of 3M NaOH into the same test tube.
18. Repeat steps 6 and 7.
19. Place 10 drops of .1M Pb(NO3)2 and 10 drops of .1M KI into the same test tube.
20. Repeat steps 6 and 7 once again.
21. Take a second set of observations on the products formed by the last four reactants,
now that the precipitates may be more settled.
22. Clean Up: Dump all products of reactions into a large beaker for Mr. Wilcox to
dispose of properly. Scrub and rinse all test tubes and the test tube holder,

Observations

Reactants Observations
.1M Fe(NO3)2 Light yellow. Water-like liquid. (Maybe
because it is mostly water). No outstanding
odor.
.1M CoCl2 Light pink color. Also water-like, perhaps
since it is mostly water. Odorless.
.1M AgNO3 Clear, odorless, water-like liquid. (Since it’s
mostly water).
.1M Pb(NO3)2 Clear, odorless, water-like liquid (probably
since it’s mostly water).
.1M KI Clear, odorless, water-like substance (maybe
since it is mostly water).
3M NaOH Clear, odorless, water-like liquid. (Probably
because the solution if mostly water).
3M HCl Clear, odorless, water-like liquid. (The
solution is mostly water).
Reaction and Products Immediate Observations Later Observations
1. Pb(NO3)2 + NaOH Cloudy white clear liquid The liquid in which the
→Pb(OH)2 + NaNO3 with fine, white, powdery white, powdery precipitate is
precipitate on the bottom of in has cleared up
the test tube. significantly.
2. AgNO3 + NaOH → Little pieces of brown The precipitate has an
AgOH + NaNO3 precipitate can be seen at the appearance similar to moss
bottom of the test tube. and is immersed in a mixture
Liquid solution precipitate is which is almost clear.
 immersed in is clouded by
small brown pieces of the
precipitate.
3. AgNO3 + HCl → Powdery white precipitate
AgCl + HNO3 similar to the precipitate
formed in reaction 1 has been
produced.
4. AgNO3 + KI → The precipitate formed by
AgI + KNO3 this reaction looks like a fine,
yello-greenish powder in a
liquid which is clouded by
smaller particles of the
precipitate.
5. Fe(NO3)2 + NaOH Light brown particles are
→Fe(OH)2 + NaNO3 floating around in the liquid
solution.
6. CoCl2 + NaOH Small particles of blue-
→Co(OH)2 + NaCl greenish precipitate can be
seen mixed in with the
solution which is salt water.
Particles are slowly gathering
on the bottom.
7. Pb(NO3)2 + KI → Thick but fine, yellow
PbI2 + KNO3 powder is the precipitate
formed in this reaction.
Graphs
Discussion Questions
1. For each reaction:
The white powder has settled
and the liquid portion of the
test tube is almost completely
clear.
Looks like the precipitate
needs more time to settle.
The test tube has not changed
much; the liquid is still a
cloudy yellow-green.
Most of the rust-colored
precipitate has settles at the
bottom of the test tube.
The particles have not settled.
Perhaps more time is needed.
The precipitate in the solution
is bluer towards the top but
have a green hue at the
bottom. Maybe this is only
the effect of the shape of the
test tube.
The liquid in the test tube has
almost completely cleared,
and the yellow, powdery
precipitate has settled on the
bottom.
 a. Write the balanced chemical equation
b. Include in the balanced chemical equation, the proper STATE indication, i.e. (s),
(l), (aq), (g), for each compound.
c. Write equation as a word equation.

Pb(NO3)2(aq) + 2NaOH(aq) → Pb(OH)2(s) + 2NaNO3(aq)

One molecule of lead nitrate and two molecules of sodium hydroxide react to produce one
molecule of lead hydroxide and two molecules of sodium nitrate.

AgNO3(aq) + NaOH(aq) →AgOH(s) + NaNO3(aq)

One molecule of silver nitrate and a molecule of sodium hydroxide react to produce one
molecule of silver hydroxide and one molecule of sodium nitrate.

AgNO3(aq) + HCl(aq) → AgCl(s) + HNO3(aq)

One molecule of silver nitrate and one molecule of hydrochloric acid produce one molecule
of silver chloride and one molecule of hydrogen nitrate.

AgNO3(aq) + KI(aq) → AgI(s) + KNO3(aq)

One molecule of silver nitrate and one molecule of potassium iodide react to produce one
molecule of silver iodide and one molecule of potassium nitrate.

Fe(NO3)2(aq) + 2NaOH(aq) → Fe(OH)2(s) + 2NaNO3(aq)

One molecule of iron nitrate and two molecules of sodium hydroxide react to produce one
molecule of iron hydroxide and two molecules of sodium nitrate.

CoCl2(aq) + 2NaOH(aq) → Co(OH)2(s) +2 NaCl(aq)

One molecule of cobalt chloride and two molecules of sodium hydroxide react to produce one
molecule of cobalt chloride and two molecules of sodium chloride.

Pb(NO3)2(aq) + 2KI(aq) → PbI2(s) + 2KNO3(aq)

One molecule of lead nitrate and two molecules of potassium iodide react to produce one
molecule of lead iodide and two molecules of potassium nitrate.

2. How could you determine, just from looking at a chemical equation, if a precipitate
will be formed?

You can determine by looking at the chemical equation whether or not a precipitate will be
formed, if the states of matter for each component in the equation are included. If two
aqueous compounds react to form a solid, you can conclude that the solid is the precipitate
formed by that reaction.

3. Almost all reactions are either endothermic or exothermic. For each of the chemical
reactions that you observed, indicate whether you think it was endothermic or
exothermic and state WHY you think so. Hint: Think back to when we dissolved salt
in water during our class. Was dissolving salt an exothermic or endothermic process?
How does it relate to what we’ve seen during this lab?
A precipitate forming is like the opposite of a substance dissolving in a solvent. Dissolving
salt in water at room temperature was an endothermic process, so perhaps the chemical
reactions we observed in this lab activity was exothermic.

4. Chemical reactions can be categorized into a couple of different groups. Each of the
reactions observed during this laboratory are of the same type. Read the article found
on EdLine called “Types of Chemical Reactions”. Then identify what type of
reaction those performed in this activity was. Then explain.

All seven reactions which took place during this lab activity were metathesis reactions, or
double-replacement reactions. The general equation which describes a metathesis reaction is
AB+CD→AD+CB. An example is the chemical equation AgNO3(aq) + KI(aq) → AgI(s) +
KNO3(aq), where the silver atom from AgNO3 and iodide atom from KI combines to
become AgI.

5. Research each of the precipitates created during this laboratory, and then identify
which one was once used in paint, but is no longer used for this purpose. Then
explain why it is no longer used.

Lead hydroxide (Pb(OH)2) was once used in white lead paints to help it dry faster. It’s no
longer used because of its high toxicity which makes the paint dangerous to use.

6. Use this laboratory activity as an example to explain why it is important not to

assume anything is ‘just’ water when you are in a laboratory setting.

In this laboratory activity, we handled many solutions which look undoubtedly like water
though they contain dangerous chemicals. It would be very dangerous to drink a solution
like .1M KI thinking it was water. Therefore, it is important not to assume anything as water.

Conclusion

This laboratory activity has served its purpose by showing the eighth graders a
variety of small-scale chemical reactions. Through these experiments we have learned about
precipitates and practiced our listening, note-taking, and observation skills. Personally, I think
the lab activity was educational but not very exciting. One major thing I learned was that the
reactions we observed were all metathesis, double-replacement reactions. While putting this
lab report together, I also learned how some precipitates are used in real life. For example,
AgOH can be used to make a special kind of battery. I am glad to know of these compounds’
significance.