Sea-Shell Investigation

DETERMINATION OF CALCIUM CARBONATE CONTENT OF SEA-SHELLS

Alasdair McFadzean

Table of Contents
Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Underlying Chemistry ...................................................................................................................................2 Experimental Procedures.............................................................................................................................. 3 Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................................5 Evaluation ......................................................................................................................................................5

NOTE
In the interests of maintaining clarity I wish to point out that in this report the decimal point is represented by the period . as is the norm rather than the interpunct which is rather cumbersome both in terms of insertion and appearance. Multiplication is indicated by the operator.

Summary
The aim of the expirement was to determine the percentage of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) by mass in a sample of seashell. After carrying out the experiment it would appear that the percentage mass of CaCO 3 contained within the sample of sea-shell is 197.8%. This is undoubtedly incorrect and the possible sources of error leading to this result are discussed in the evaluation later in this report.

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Underlying Chemistry
In order to determine the mass of CaCO3 contained within the sample, the crushed sea-shell was reacted with Hydrochloric acid (HCl) according to the equation: 2HCl(aq) + CaCO3(s) -> CaCl2(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l) After carrying out this neutralisation reaction the technique of titration (in this case back titration), pioneered by French chemist Franois-Antoine-Henri Descroizilles, was used to determine the number of moles of Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) required to neutralise a 10cm 3 sample of HCl. The reaction taking place was as follows: NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq) -> NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) From this reaction it can be seen that the Number of moles of NaOH reacting is equal to the number of moles of HCl. When carrying out the titration, universal indicator is used to help determine the end point of the reaction. The UI will initially colour the solution red when added to the HCl and the end point occurs when the UI causes the solution to turn green indicating that the pH is 7 and that the reactants have been neutralised. Once the number of moles of HCl reacting in the titration has been determined this number can be subtracted from the initial number of moles of acid to give the number of moles which must have reacted with the CaCO3 According to: 2HCl(aq) + CaCO3(s) -> CaCl2(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l) We know that 2 mol of HCl reacts with 1 mol of CaCO3 and hence we are able to find the number of moles of Calcium Carbonate reacting. This number can be used in the formula = in order to obtain the absolute mass of CaCO3 in the shell. When this absolute mass is divided by the total mass of the shell and multiplied by 100 the resultant value is the percentage mass of Calcium Carbonate contained within the sample.

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Experimental Procedures
A sample of crushed sea-shell weighing approximately 1.og was added to a 100cm3 beaker along with 20cm3 of 2 mol l-1 HCl(aq). The mixture was stirred until the shell had reacted completely before being filtered into a 100cm3 standard flask. Water was added to the flask up to the graduation mark and the contents of the flask were then mixed. A 0.2 mol l-1 solution of sodium hydroxide was produced using a 250cm3 standard flask and this solution was used to rinse and fill a 50cm3 burette. 10cm3 samples of the HCl were titrated against the sodium hydroxide until concordant results were obtained. The end point was determined using Universal Indicator which indicated when the solution reached a pH of 7.

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Results
Titre Intial Volume (ml) Final Volume (ml) Change in Volume (ml) 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.3 Average volume of NaOH = 1.266ml Number of Moles of NaOH reacting: = = 0.2 0.001266 = 2.533 104

Rough 1 2 3

0.1 1.6 2.9 4.1

1.6 2.9 4.1 5.4

NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq) -> NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) 1 mol + 1 mol -> 1 mol + 1 mol Number of Moles of HCl reacting in the titration = 2.533 104 mol Initial Number of Moles of HCl = 0.04 mol Number of Moles reacting with CaCO3 = 0.04 2.533 104 = 0.0398 mol

2HCl(aq) + CaCO3(s) -> CaCl2(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l) 2 mol + 1 mol Number of Moles of CaCO3 Reacting = 0.0398 2 = 0.0199 mol Mass of CaCO3 Reacting: = = 0.0199 100 = 1.99 Mass of Sea-shell = 1.006g % Mass of CaCO3 = (1.99 1.006) 100 = 197.8%

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Conclusion
From this experiment it can be concluded that the percetage mass of Calcium Carbonate in a sample of Sea-shell is 197.8%. This figure is obviously erroneous and the possible sources of error are discussed in the evaluation which follows.

Evaluation
From the result obtained above it is clear that the experiment cannot be considered successful. The fact that the results suggest there is a greater mass of Calcium Carbonate than there is sea-shell indicates that errors have been made at some point in the process. One possible source of error would lie with the seashells themselves. If the seashell was composed not only of CaCO3 but also of other materials which react with HCl this could account for some increase in the percentage mass, however, this still could not result in a number greater than 100%. Moving on to examine the other reactants another source of error could lie with the NaOH solution if it were made up incorrectly, however, I am confident that this is not the case and that the sodium hydroxide solution was indeed 0.2 mol l-1 as stated. This brings us to the concentration of the HCl itself. The hydrochloric acid was already prepared prior to the experiment and no attempt was made to verify that it did indeed have a concentration of 2 mol l-1 Given that Calcium Carbonate is a major constituent of sea-shells the percentage mass can be assumed to be significantly high. With this in mind, following through the calculations above with a HCl concentration of 1 mol l-1 produces a percentage mass of CaCO3 of 98.1% which is more acceptable than the original result. From this I believe the source of error within the experiment was the concentration of HCl which had been reduced from the 2.o mol l-1 anticipated to 1.0 mol l-1. Further to this a minor modification could be made to the procedure to facilitate a more accurate determination of the end point. This could be achieved by retaining the products of the 1 st titre and using this solution as a comparison of colour with the next two titres.

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