Lab 32

Formal Report
What is in this Container?

Ingeniously Crafted by Hunter Schmidt and Mark Van der Merwe

4/21/15

Introduction
In this experiment, the identity of an unknown substance must be determined
using a variety of methods. Luckily, there are only 12 possibilities for the unknown. It
could be:
1. aluminum(s)
2. sodium hydrogen carbonate(s)
3. barium chloride(s)
4. ammonia(aq)
5. formic acid(aq)
6. sodium hydroxide(s)
7. hydrochloric acid(aq)
8. iron(III) chloride(aq)
9. ethanol(l)
10. hexane(l)
11. urea(s)
12. potassium sulfate(s)
Because these compounds have their own unique properties, it is possible to
determine the identity of the unknown by testing its properties and comparing them to
the properties of the known possibilities. Some helpful properties to test could include
pH, solubility in water, emission or absorption spectra, and conductivity. Use the

flowchart and procedure to perform successive tests on the compounds to determine

the identity of the unknown.

Experimental
In order to determine the makeup of the material in the container, we will
perform several tests on the material to determine by trial and error which chemical we
have. Once you have found your material, you do not have to complete any of the other
tests.
1: Solubility Test:

Starting with our unknown Material/Solution, take about 2 grams (or about 10
ml) of material and place it into a 100 ml beaker. Add 50 ml of DI to the beaker and stir
the beaker. If the material does not dissolve, try adding more DI until it dissolves. If it
still doesnt dissolve, we can consider it to be insoluble.
If our result is Insoluble go to test 2. If it shows up as soluble go to test 3.

2: If Insoluble: State Test:

If the material is insoluble in water, merely identify the substance. Quite simply if
our material is solid, it will be aluminum. If the material is Liquid, it will be hexane. To
confirm your answer, use the following densities of each and use liquid displacement
and the grams added to determine and compare density:
a. Hexane = 0.659 g/mL
b. Aluminum = 2.70 g/mL

3: If Soluble: Conductivity Test:

If the material is soluble, we will next perform an electrical conductivity test.

Using the dissolved solution, use the conductivity test to determine in which of the
three sections this material would fall under.
If Nonelectrolyte continue to test 4.
If Weak Electrolyte continue to test 5.
If Strong Electrolyte continue to test 6.

4: If Nonelectrolyte: State Test:

If the solution proves to be a nonelectrolyte, perform a state test. Simply, if the

state is Solid the material is Urea. If it is a liquid, the material is ethanol. To confirm for
the two different states perform the following:
a. For Urea: perform a test for freezing point depression. First, fill a beaker
with salt and ice. Add approximately 10 mL of distilled water to a test
tube, and suspend the test tube in the ice mixture. Put a thermometer
into the test tube. Wait until the water begins to freeze. As soon as ice
can be seen, record the temperature shown to use as a freezing point
baseline. Repeat this with a mixture of 1g the unknown in 10 mL of
distilled water. Find the freezing point depression by subtracting the
freezing point of the solution from the freezing point of pure water like so:

Tf = Tf - Tf
then use the Kf for water and the freezing point depression to solve for
the molality using the following equation:
Tf / Kf =m
then multiply by the kilograms of water used by dividing the milliliters
used by 1000 (this should be close to .01) this will give you the moles of
unknown used. Divide the mass of unknown used by the moles to find
the molar mass, and compare to the given exact:
i. Molar mass = 60.06 g/mol
b. For Ethanol: measure a certain amount of ethanol, recording the mass,
then determining the V to find V of the amount. Next we can find the
density and compare it to the given exact:
i. Density = 0.789 g/mL

5: If Weak Electrolyte: pH test:

If our solution proves to be a weak electrolyte, we then test the pH of the

system. Using the pH probe provided, and using your MeasureNet Workstation, set up
to measure the pH of the solution. First go to the Main Menu then press F3 for pH vs.
mVolts, the press F1 pH vs. Time. Next press the Calibrate button and follow the on
screen instructions to calibrate using the 7.00 buffer solution. Remember to stir the
solution when you place the probe in during the calibration. Again follow the
instructions to completion to finish out the Calibration. Next press Display to measure
all values. Placing the pH probe into the solution, determine whether the solution is
either acidic or basic. If it is acidic, the solution is Formic Acid. If it is Basic, the solution
is Ammonia. Finally, we will perform a test to make sure we have the right thing.
a. Formic Acid: perform a titration using a known concentrated NaOH
solution. Using your results, determine the K(a) of the solution you have. If
it matches to Formic Acids, you know we have Formic Acid.

6: Absorption Spectroscopy Test:

If we start with a strong electrolyte, the next step is to take the absorption
spectrum of the solution. In order to do this, use Appendix D- Instructions for
Recording an Absorbance Spectrum using the MeasureNet Spectrophotometer.
Looking at the data (use excel to graph your data), if there is no absorbance, we must
move onto emission testing. If there is an absorption at around 200-850 nm, we know
the unknown is Iron(III) Chloride.
If no absorbance occurs continue to test 7.

7: Emission Spectroscopy Test:

If our solution does not have an absorbance spectrum, we then test for an
emission spectroscopy. In order to do this, use Appendix E- Instructions for Recording
an Emission Spectrum Using the MeasureNet Spectrophotometer. Looking at the
results of the test (graph these using excel), compare them to these numbers:
a. 765 nm and/or 771 nm = Potassium Sulfate
b. 740 nm, 831 nm, 873 nm = Barium Chloride
c. 589 nm = Further Tests Required to determine solution (see next step)
d. No Emission = Hydrochloric Acid
In order to confirm the above assumptions to be true we must perform the
following tests on each respective one to confirm its identity:
a. Potassium Sulfate = add BaCl2(s) - Precipitate should form.
b. Barium Chloride = add AgNo3(aq) - Precipitate should form.

c. Hydrochloric Acid = using the pH probe (see set up in test 5) determine that it
should be an acid of a pH < 1.5.
If an emission of 589 nm occurs, please continue on to test 8.

8: pH Test:

If the emission test yields 589 nm, the substance can be two substances so we
must finish up with a pH test. If the test yields a pH higher than 10 then our substance
is Sodium Hydroxide. If the test yields a pH lower than 10 then our substance is
Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate. In order to set up the pH probe check out the
instructions on test 5. In order to test that it really is NaOH, add Fe(No3)3(aq) to the
solution. If a precipitate forms, we know we are right.

Results
Observations of unknown substance:
Unknown 12.

Results of Tests:
1: Solubility in Water:
Soluble

Insoluble

2: State of Uknown:
Solid

Liquid

Is the unknown: Aluminum or Hexane

Work for Confirmation:

3: Conductivity Test:
Non Electrolyte

Weak Electrolyte

Strong Electrolyte

4: State of Unknown:
Solid

Liquid

Work for Confirmation:

Is the unknown: Urea or Ethanol

5: pH Test:
Acidic

Basic

Ammonia
Work for Confirmation:

Is the unknown: Formic Acid or

6: Absorption Spectroscopy Test:

No Absorbance

Absorbance of 200-850 nm

Is the unknown: Iron (III) Chloride

7: Emission Spectroscopy Test:
Emission of:
765 nm and/or 771 nm

740 nm, 831 nm, 873 nm

589 nm

No Emission

Is the unknown: Potassium Sulfate or Barium Chloride or Hydrochloric Acid

Work for Confirmation:

8: pH Test:
pH>10

pH<10

Is the unknown: Sodium Hydroxide or Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate

Work for Confirmation:

Which substance does this most closely match? Explain why?

Discussion
Our results told us that the unknown we were provided was formic acid. This
gives us a set definition for what it is and we can be sure that it is right. By using a
titration to affirm our belief that it is Formic Acid, we can be sure that this is the only
clear possibility. Our results and further evidence mean we can be sure what we have
is Formic Acid.
We can predict that there was little room for error. A possible concern could be
mistaking its solubility in the start. It is possible that we may not have seen a second
film even if it was there. This being said, by double checking with the titration we can
be surer of our results soundness.

Conclusion
In this experiment we were provided a solution and asked the question: Whats
in this container? We were provided a list of possible chemicals that it could be and
were told to determine which one was in the container. Next, we researched ways,
using the skills we had developed, to determine which chemical was in the container.
We created a step by step experiment using tests, such as solubility, pH, and titrations,
to determine first which chemicals we did not have and then finally we could determine
which chemical we had.
We started with a solubility test. Combining our unknown solution with water,
we determined that the solution was soluble and so moved on to a electrolyte test.
Using a Conductivity Detector, we saw a dim light, telling us that we had a weak
electrolyte. From there we used a pH probe to determine that the solution was acidic.
Given the qualities determined, we knew that our solution had to be Formic Acid. In
order to be sure that we were correct we performed a titration to determine the K(a) of
the solution. We found that the K(a) of our solution matched the known K(a) of Formic
Acid, proving that was what we had on our hands.
The experiment provided the data we needed, allowing us to determine that our
solution was Formic Acid. We know from our Results that the substance in our
container can be identified as Formic Acid.

Works Cited
"Gliffy Public Diagram - Draft: Chem Proposal Flowchart." Gliffy. Gliffy, 1 Apr. 2014.
Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
Stanton, Bobby, Lin Zhu, and Charles H. Atwood. Experiments in General Chemistry
Featuring Measurenet: Guided Inquiry, Self-directored, and Capstone. Belmont,
CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.