Chemistry 20L Exam Study Questions

Winter 2004
Answer Key
Open lab notebook, lecture guides and hand-written notes. No lab manuals or texts. Bring
a calculator.
1. (a) percent error =

0.003 0.05
0.02
( 20.54
+
+
) X 100 = 2.8% ~ 3%
0.254 3.21

(b) Absolute error = (30.078 - 20.174 + 9.813) (0.003 + 0.001 + 0.005) = 19.717 0.009
0.008
x 100 = 0.045% ~ 0.05%
% error =
19.717
(c) absolute error =

0.004
[( 0.002
+
) X 1.549] + 0.002
0.642 2.413

= 0.007 + 0.002 = 0.009

% error =
(d)

0.009
0.009
( (0.642)(2.413)
)
X 100 =
X 100 = 0.86% ~ 0.9%
0.501
1.048

12.635 0.005
12.635 0.005
=
(5.967 0.003) + (0.478 0.004)
6.445 0.007
% error =

0.005
0.007
( 12.635
+
) X 100 = 0.148% ~ 0.1%
6.445

2. (a) 1.625 X 2.8% = 0.045 ~ 0.05

(b) 0.009
(c) 0.009
12.635
12.635
(d)
x0.148% = 0.003 or
x0.1% = 0.002
6.445
6.445
3. average = 20.905; average deviation = 0.035; relative average deviation = 0.17%
4. Molarity = moles solute/liter solution
Normality = equivalents solute/liter solution
Weight percent (w/v) = grams solute/100mL solvent
Weight percent (w/w) = grams solute/100g solvent
PPM = parts per million
pH = -log [H+]
5. (a) molarity is the appropriate unit when discussing chemical reactions since stoichiometry
is based on mole relations. Molarity is dependent on temperature
because of volume
changes with temperature.
PPM is useful when small concentrations are under investigations and the frame of
reference is always at this level
(b) weight percent is useful when the substances are solids and the preparation is a
recipe only and does not convey any sense of a reaction that stoichiometry.

(c) like weight percent, volume percent is a recipe instruction and is useful for
concentrations when the solute and solvent are liquids.
6. (a) Molecular weight of ethanol = 45 g/mol
Volume of 1.00 x 10-3 mol = 0.051 mL
PPM = 0.045g/1000g = 45g/106g = 45 PPM
(b) wt % = 0.0045g/100g = 0.0045%
(c) vol % = 0.051 mL/1000 mL = 0.0051 mL/100 mL = 0.0051%
7. 2.00 x 10-4 M
4.00 x 10-4 N
0.00196% (w/v)
19.6 PPM
8. The molecular weight of sodium hydroxide NaOH, is 40.08g. The final concentration is
1000mL/L 10.00ml
0.4063g
X
X
= 0.2032M
40.00g/mol 100.00mL 50.00mL
9. The question asks for copper not the salt. It is the concentration of the heavy metal that is
usually the important issue.)
Weight of copper in the sample =weight of sample x AW of Cu /MW of CuSO4.5H2O)
0.1037g x 63.55 g/mol
=
= 2.639 10-2 g
249.7 g/mol
2.639 x 10-2 g 0.005L

= 1.320 x 10-3 g/L
concentration of Cu in diluted solution =

0.100L 0.100L
Since this is a dilute aqueous solution 1.00 mL ~1.00g
1.320 x 10-2 g 1000g 13.20g

=
= 13.20 13.2PPM
PPM Cu

1000g 1000g 10 6
10. 0.56%
Note that the names of the pieces of equipment (e.g. 100-mL volumetric flask, 5-mL pipet)
do not indicate the precision of the equipment. In part (b) of this question you calculate the
uncertainty in the concentration. The absolute error in (a) is 0.06 ppm. Rounding down to
13.2 is very conservative, and loses some of the significance of the measurements; reporting
13.20 implies a higher precision than is actually known if you assume 1 in the last digit.
The unambiguous way to report the answer is 13.20 0.56%.
11. Absorbance is a measure of the light absorbed by a solution. Specifically it is the
negative log of the fraction of light transmitted through the solution. Because it is a
logarithm, it is a dimensionless quantity.
b is the symbol for the thickness of the solution through which the light being absorbed
passes. b is often called the cell length or path length and is reported in centimeters.
is the molar extinction coefficient. It is the amount of light absorbed by 1 cm of a
1M solution of the compound.
12.

44.5%

13. (a) 2390/M

2.09 x 10-4

(c)

14. (a) A 60% octane solution will begin to boil at 90oC. The composition of the vapor in
equilibrium with the solution is 70% hexane.
140
T
E
M
P
E 120
R
A
T
U
R 100
E

condensation curve

vapor

vapor and liquid

co-exist in this
region

tie line

C
80
boiling curve or
vaporization curve

liquid

60
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

MOLE FRACTION OF HEXANE

(b) Gas chromatogram of original mixture.

injection
time

hexane

Paper direction
(c) Gas chromatogram of first distillate.

octane

1.0

15. (a)

moles of OH- = moles of H2PO4- = (0.500M x 0.01941L) = 9.705 x 10-3

(moles of H2PO4- )/3 = moles of STPP = 3.235 x 10-3

weight of STPP in sample = moles STTP x MW = 3.235 x 10-3 mol x 371 g/mol = 1.200g
% STPP in sample = 1.200g/2.000g x 100 = 60.0%
(b) Inherent error = sum of % errors in buret reading, concentration of base and weighing of
original sample
0.0002 0.001 0.03
=
+
+
x 100 = 0.36%
2.0000 0.500 19.41
16. (a) The end point in a titration is when an indicator changes color signaling (one hopes) that
the equivalents of acid and base that have been mixed are equivalent. The equivalence
point in a titration occurs when the equivalents of acid and base that have been mixed
are identical whether or not there is any indication experimentally that this is the case.
(b) Volumetric glassware is calibrated by the manufacturer to give a precision of 0.1%
based on proper use. Non-volumetric glassware may have volume indications to give an
estimate of the volume contained or delivered to a precision of 1 5%.
(c) Weak coffee is a common description of the concentration of the coffee. A weak acid
refers to a substance that does not dissociate completely in solution. The acid that is put
into the solution can have any concentration.
(d) Absorbance is a measure of the amount of light interacting with the molecules in a
solution and not passing through the solution. It is related to the transmittance by the
equation A = -log T. The transmittance, T, is the fraction of incident light that passes
through a solution.
(e) Accuracy refers to the closeness of a set of results to the true value for that result. The
precision refers to the deviation or variation of a set of results from the mean.
17. See the lab technique procedures 2, 5, 4, and 9 (pages 2 9) and the procedure in
Assignment 8 on pages 84 and 85 in the lab manual.
Kinetics review problems may be found in Chapter 13 of Oxtoby, Gillis and Nachtrieb
pages 480-482, questions 1 18.