CARBON DIOXIDE FROM AN ANTACID TABLET

Experiment 1

INTRODUCTION
Several brands of antacids contain calcium carbonate as their active ingredient. Inert materials such as binders, coloring, and flavorings are also present. In this experiment you will determine the weight percent of calcium carbonate in an unknown antacid tablet. Calcium carbonate reacts with acid and produces carbon dioxide. CaCO3(s) + 2 HCl(aq) ! Ca2+(aq) + 2 Cl (aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)
"

(1) (2)

or

CO32 (aq) + 2 H+(aq)

"

! H2O(l) + CO2(g)

By reacting the antacid with excess acid and then collecting the carbon dioxide produced in a constant predetermined volume, we will be able to use the Ideal Gas Law (PV=nRT) and the molecular weight of calcium carbonate to determine the weight percent of calcium carbonate in an antacid tablet. The pressure will be monitored with a pressure sensor and temperature will be monitored using a Temperature probe, both connected to a computer via an interface unit.

APPARATUS AND CHEMICALS

Apparatus 1 125 mL erlenmeyer flasks 1 small vials 1 spatula 1 weighing plate 1 tweezers 1 Three Holed Rubber Stopper, set with a 2-way valve, a Temperature probe and a Pressure sensor Chemicals ~2.5 g CaCO3 (99.9%) 1 antacid tablet ethanol HCl (4.5 M)

PROCEDURE
Preparation of the apparatus. The instrument should be ready to use. If not, click on Exp1 icon on the desktop. The instrument is used in monitor mode only so you wont need to access the keyboard at all once set up. Verify that the Pressure sensor is connected to Channel 1 and the Temperature probe to Channel 2. If not, ask your TA to check your setup. Clearly label your 125 mL erlenmeyer flasks. Running the experiment with standard CaCO3. Place your flask on the analytical balance and press O/T. If your flask is wet, rinse it with a small amount of ethanol. The erlenmeyer flask must be entirely clean and dry, for the vial, its important that the outside be dry. If wet, the water will react with the antacid and release carbon dioxide before you are ready to collect it. Use a DRY spatula to transfer about 0.4 g of standard CaCO3 into the flask. Record the precise weight in Table 1. Tap the flask gently to move the sample to the side of the flask. If you use more than 0.5 g of CaCO3, too much CO2 will be produced, the pressure will exceed the capacity of the setup and that run will be unusable. However, using too small of a sample will result in a small pressure change, which will be less accurate than you want. Fill a clean vial 3/4 "full" (6 mL) with 4.5 M HCl (the bottle should be at the end of your aisle). Wipe any spilled acid from the outside of the vial. It is highly recommended that you practice the following step with an empty vial and your empty 125 mL Erlenmeyer flask before actually doing the step in the experiment. Hold the tweezers at the top. Grip the vial of acid at one edge. Carefully lower the vial, setting it upright in the bottom of the flask without touching the sample. Carefully clamp the flask at the neck to the bench stand so that it will not fall over. Open the 2-way valve and firmly press the rubber stopper into the flask. Your setup should now look like in Figure 1.

to vacuum

HCl

CaCO3

Figure 1 Assembly before reaction

Connect the vacuum tubing to the 2-way valve. Make sure the 2-way valve is closed, open the tap, and then open the 2-way valve. Pressure in the flask will decrease. When pressure gets between 5 and 10 kPa, close the 2-way valve. Disconnect the vacuum tubing, and only then turn off the tap. It is important to strictly follow the above sequence, otherwise water from the sink could be sucked back into the flask. Wait until the pressure is stable (i.e. pressure does not change by more than 0.1 kPa for 5 seconds). Your initial pressure should never be lower than the vapor pressure of water. Refer to Table A to make sure its not. Check the system for leaks. If the system is not tight, the pressure will not stabilize. You must find and seal any leaks before going further. Most of the time, the leak is found around the rubber stopper. Press the stopper down firmly to seal the gap between the flask and stopper. If you cannot find and seal your leak, consult your demonstrator. Reaction. Record the initial pressure and temperature in Table 1. Remove the flask from the extension clamp. Hold the flask gently by the neck and agitate it until the vial falls over and the acid spills into the flask. Shake the flask continuously for about 2 minutes to ensure complete reaction of the CaCO3. As the acid reacts with the antacid, CO2 is rapidly released and the pressure in the flask will increase. Stop shaking when no more gas is being produced (pressure stops increasing and remains stable). The setup at this point should look like Figure 2.

Figure 2 Assembly after reaction

Record the final temperature and pressure in Table 1. Open the 2-way valve and remove the rubber stopper from the flask. Wash and dry the flask for the next run. 3

Repeat the procedure twice with similar amounts of CaCO3. Running the experiment with the antacid tablets. Make sure your flask is clean, dry and still clearly labeled before you start. Precisely weigh the antacid tablet (use a weighing plate), record the weight and code number at the bottom of Table 2. Cover the tablet with a piece of Kimwipes towel and crush it into small pieces. You will do 3 runs with the antacid. Proceed exactly as for the standard CaCO3 using about one quarter to one third of a tablet for each run. Record all measurements in Table 2. Be aware that you will be graded on the accuracy and precision of your results. Clean Up. Wash your flask and vial thoroughly with tap water (use soap and brush if necessary). When all are clean, rinse thoroughly with tap water, then once with distilled water. Finally, pour about 25 mL of ethanol in the Erlenmeyer and swirl. Transfer the ethanol to the vial and then discard to the sink.

CALCULATIONS
The Ideal Gas Law PV = nRT relates the number of moles n of a gas with the pressure P it creates in a volume V at temperature T. The initial pressure Pi measured in the flask before the reaction (Figure 1) is the result of the contributions of Air and H2O gases. Pi = PAir-i + PH O-i
2

(3)

After the reaction (Figure 2), Air, H2O and CO2 contribute to the pressure. Pf = PAir-f + PH O-f + PCO -f
2 2

(4)

Pi PAir-i PH O-i
2

: initial pressure measured in the flask before the reaction (kPa) : contribution of Air to the initial pressure (kPa) : contribution of H2O to the initial pressure, from Table A (kPa) : : : :
final pressure measured in the flask after the reaction (kPa) contribution of Air to the final pressure (kPa) contribution of H2O to the final pressure, from Table A (kPa) contribution of CO2 to the final pressure (kPa)

Pf PAir-f PH O-f PCO -f

2 2

H2O in the flask is present both in the liquid phase and in the gas phase. How much will be in the gas phase versus liquid phase depends on the temperature. Vapor pressures given in Table A, below, allow to account for H2O contribution to the pressure.

Table A - Vapor pressure of water Temperature (C) 16.0 16.5 17.0 17.5 18.0 18.5 19.0 19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 21.5 Vapor Pressure (kPa) 1.81 1.87 1.93 2.00 2.07 2.13 2.20 2.27 2.33 2.41 2.49 2.56 Temperature Vapor Pressure Temperature Vapor Pressure (C) (kPa) (C) (kPa) 22.0 2.64 28.0 3.77 22.5 2.72 28.5 3.89 23.0 2.81 29.0 4.03 23.5 2.89 29.5 4.12 24.0 2.99 30.0 4.22 24.5 3.08 30.5 4.31 25.0 3.16 31.0 4.44 25.5 3.27 31.5 4.54 26.0 3.36 32.0 4.65 26.5 3.47 32.5 4.75 27.0 3.56 33.0 4.87 27.5 3.67 33.5 4.98

Substracting the contribution of H2O, we obtain Pi ! PH O-i = Pi

2

(5) (6)

Pf ! PH O-f = Pf
2

Pi Pf

: initial pressure in the flask without H2O contribution (kPa) : final pressure in the flask without H2O contribution (kPa)

The number of molecules is then calculated from the Ideal Gas Law ni = (Pi V) / (R Ti) nf = (Pf V) / (R Tf) ni nf Ti Tf V R : : : : : :
molecules of gas initially in the flask, Air contribution only (mol) molecules of gas in the flask after reaction Air and CO2 contribution only (mol) initial temperature of the gas in the flask (K) final temperature of the gas in the flask (K) volume occupied by the gas, flask, tubing etc. (L) gas constant ( = 8.314 kPa L K mol )
" "

(7) (8)

The amount of CO2 is obtained from nCO = nf ! ni = (Pf / Tf ! Pi / Ti) V / R

2

(9)

nCO

: molecules of CO2 in the flask after reaction (mol)

When the reaction is done with the standard CaCO3, nCaCO can be calculated by
3

nCaCO = mCaCO
3

%CaCO3 / MWCaCO

(10)

mCaCO

: mass of CaCO3 in the flask before reaction (g) : standard concentration of CaCO3 : molecular weight of CaCO3 : molecules of CaCO3 initially in the flask (mol)

%CaCO3 MWCaCO3

nCaCO

The stoichiometry of reaction (1) being 1CaCO3:1CO2, we have nCO = nCaCO

2 3

(11)

Replacing nCO in equation (9) we obtain

2

V = mCaCO

%CaCO3 / MWCaCO

R /(Pf / Tf ! Pi / Ti)

(12)

which allows to determine the volume of each flask using the data in Table 1. 6

Data sheet, hand in before leaving the lab

CARBON DIOXIDE FROM AN ANTACID TABLET

Experiment 1 Data
Name
First Last Student ID

Demonstrator Section Lab Date

Table 1 Reaction of HCl with standard CaCO3 Trial # 1 2 3 * Standard CaCO3 concentration: ______________________ (obtain from TA) Table 2 Reaction of HCl with antacid Trial # 1 2 3 Code number of the antacid tablet Weight of the entire antacid tablet ______________________ ______________________ Antacid (g) Initial values Pressure Temperature (kPa) (C) Final values Pressure Temperature (kPa) (C) Standard CaCO3* (g) Initial values Pressure Temperature (kPa) (C) Final values Pressure Temperature (kPa) (C)