AS Chemistry Revision Notes Unit 3 Laboratory Chemistry

Topic 3.1B Laboratory chemistry

Tests for simple ions:

Name of ion
Carbonate Hydrogen carbonate Sulphate (VI)

For mula
CO32HCO3

Test
Add dilute HCl(aq) Add to boiling water Test for CO2 Add few drops of HCl (remove unwanted ions) Add few drops of Barium chloride solution Add dilute HCl. Test gas with filter paper soaked in acidified potassium dichromate solution. Dissolve the solid in pure water. Add dilute nitric acid (removes other ions) Add silver nitrate Dissolve the solid in pure water. Add dilute nitric acid (removes other ions) Add silver nitrate Dissolve the solid in pure water. Add dilute nitric acid (removes other ions) Add silver nitrate Heat solid strongly. Test the gas. In solution, add Al and NaOH damp red litmus paper blue

Result
Test gas with lime water and turns milky No gas with boiling water. Turns limewater milky. White precipitate Ba2+(aq) + SO42-(aq) BaSO4 (s) Insoluble in HCl Turns dichromate orange to green. SO2 is produced. or same test as above but HCl 2nd : White ppt. soluble in HCl. White precipitate Ag+ (aq) + Cl-(aq) AgCl (s) Dissolves in dilute ammonia Cream precipitate Ag+ (aq) + Br-(aq) AgBr (s) Dissolves in conc. ammonia Yellow precipitate Ag+ (aq) + I-(aq) AgI (s) Insoluble in dil. or conc. ammonia With Na or K, solid melts, oxygen gas liberated With Li or G2 metals: brown gas (NO2)+ glowing splint relights (O2)

SO42-

Sulphite

SO32-

Chloride Cl Bromide Br Chloride I

Nitrate

NO3-

Ammoniu m Magnesiu m

NH4+

Heat with dilute NaOH Add dilute NH3 until excess or add NaOH(aq) until excess

Ammonia is given off indicator paper blue White precipitate is formed

Mg2+

Flame Tests
Lithium Sodium Potassium Calcium Strontium Barium Li+ Na+ K
+

Crimson red flame Place some solid on clock glass. Place c. HCl In another clock glass Clean the tip of a platinum wire with the acid by putting it in the flame until no colour. Put tip in acid, then solid, then in the flame. Yellow flame Lilac flame Brick-red flame Scarlet red flame Apple-green flame

Ca2+ Sr2+ Ba2+

Tests for simple gases:

Gas
Hydrogen Oxygen Carbon dioxide Ammonia Chlorine Nitrogen dioxide Sulphur dioxide

For mula
H2 O2 CO2 NH3 Cl2 NO2 SO2

Test
Use a lighted splint Use a glowing splint Bubble through lime water Use damp red litmus paper Place near HCl Use damp blue litmus paper Use damp blue litmus paper Use orange dichromate paper

Result
Squeaky pop Relights Turns milky Turns red litmus blue Produces white fumes Blue litmus turns red then bleached Turns red Turns orange to blue/green

Volumetric analysis: o Preparing a solution of known concentration (Standard solution): Place beaker on balance and weigh between x and y grams of solid (after checking 0 error). Make a note of mass added Add about 100 cm3 of distilled water to beaker and dissolve solid with glass rod. Use a funnel to transfer this to volumetric flask. Rinse the beaker and glass rod thoroughly with distilled water into the volumetric flask . Use wash bottle to add water to standard flask until bottom of meniscus is on the 250-cm3 mark on the standard flask. Place stopper and make homogeneous by shaking and inverting the flask several times o Performing a titration: Use a rinsed pipette and safety filler to place 25 cm of acid or alkali into several conical flasks. Add a few drops of indicator into the conical flask. Methyl orange if alkali in flask. Phenolphthalein if acid in flask. Rinse and then fill a burette with acid or alkali up to the 0 mark. Add the acid or alkali slowly, swirling the flask constantly until indicator turns (phenolphthalein colourless - pink /methyl orange orange - red) Stop adding the acid or alkali and record the volume of H2SO4 added. Repeat the whole experiment until 3 consecutive results within 0.2 cm3 are obtained. Calculate the concentration of the alkali or acid. o Errors in titrations: Percentage error = (actual error / measurement) x 100 Error in pipette = 0.06 cm Error in burette = 0.1 cm Measurements involving difference: twice the error. Enthalpy change measurements: o Weigh a spirit lamp (containing a liquid alcohol) using a balance accurate to 3 decimal places. Record the mass measured. o Use a measuring cylinder to put 100 cm3 of distilled water into a small beaker and clamps this at a fixed height above the spirit lamp (about 2 cm). o Record the initial temperature of the water using a thermometer. o Light the lamp using a burning splint. o Heat the water using the spirit lamp until the temperature has gone up by about 10C. Stir the water with the thermometer the whole time. o Put a cap on the spirit to stop the alcohol burning. The lid stops also stops further evaporation of the liquid alcohol. o Reweigh the spirit lamp and record the mass. o Calculate the enthalpy change

Possible sources of error: There may be heat loss due to the apparatus used and heat may have dissipated through the insulating material should use a polystyrene cup and insulation like a lid. The specific heat capacity and density of water are used (and not of HCl). The masses of solid added to the acid are ignored. It is assumed that the specific heat capacity of the polystyrene cup is negligible. Some heat is lost when the hydrogen or carbon dioxide are evolved in the reactions. Distillation and heating under reflux: To check purity of distillate: measure boiling point and compare with data book. Often, under reflux, there are side reactions and reactions do not go to completion. Generally reactants are added slowly exothermic reactions. Fractional distillation can only be used when substances have sufficiently different boiling points. Organic tests: o Collect 10 cm of the samples. o Test the samples in the following order Alkenes bromine water decolourises ? alkene Alcohols Spatula of solid PCl5. Test fumes with damp litmus paper litmus red? White fumes near ammonia? alcohol Halogenoalkane Add NaOH, ethanol as solvent. Shake and warm for 3 minutes. Cool and add nitric acid + silver nitrate. white = chloride; cream = bromide; yellow = iodide. Confirm with ammonia Alkane, the substance left is the alkane.

Sulphate solubility effect of adding a sulfate solution no precipitate MgSO4 is soluble white precipitate of CaSO4 white precipitate of SrSO4 white precipitate of BaSO4

group 2 ion in solution Mg2+ Ca2+ Sr2+ Ba2+ Hydroxide solubility

group 2 ion in solution Mg2+ Ca2+ Sr2+ Ba2+

effect of adding a hydroxide solution faint white precipitate of Mg(OH)2 faint white precipitate of Ca(OH)2 faint white precipitate of Sr(OH)2 on standing no precipitate, Ba(OH)2 is soluble

Heating Carbonates and nitrates:

substance effect of heat lithium and all group 2 carbon dioxide detected carbonates sodium and potassium no effect (except water of crystallisation may be given off) carbonates sodium and potassium nitrates oxygen only gas evolved lithium and all group 2 nitrogen dioxide and oxygen evolved nitrates