Name _______________________________

Date______________
Period ____

The Burning Sugar Lab

Background Information: Cane sugar is a kind of carbohydrate and is made of
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The chemical formula is C12H22O11. During this lab you
will heat sugar in a test tube over a Bunsen burner flame. Heat energy from the Bunsen
burner provides the energy, which causes atoms in the sugar molecule to vibrate faster
and eventually break apart. The sugar is then chemically changed when these free
atoms rearrange themselves, react with oxygen in the air and come back together to
create new substances. The Law of Conservation of Mass states that mass is
neither created nor destroyed. Therefore, the new products cannot contain any new
atoms and should have the same mass as the atoms before the reaction.
In this lab we will find the mass of the sugar before it breaks apart and reacts
with oxygen and find the mass of the substance in the test tube after the chemical
reaction. How do you think the masses will compare? Hint: think about what products
may form from this reaction. ( C12H22O11+ 6O2 (Heat) ???)
My prediction is that (write all products) __________________________ will form
when sugar (C12H22O11) is burned and reacts with oxygen.
Question:
Will the mass of the substance in the test tube (the sugar) remain the same, or
change, after being heated with the Bunsen burner?
Hypothesis:
The mass of the new substance in the test tube after it is heated will be
____________________ (less/the same/more) than/as the mass of the sugar in the
test tube before it was heated.
Materials:
Procedure:
1. Complete all preparations and safety checks for Bunsen burner use.
2. Place 2 sugar cubes in the mortar and use the pestle to crush it into a powder.
3. Spoon all the sugar onto the paper square (has fold in it for pouring).
4. Find mass of empty test tube and note mass in Data Table 1.
5. Pour sugar into the test tube and find mass of sugar + test tube.
6. Subtract mass of test tube to get mass of sugar and write in Data Table 1.
7. Attach test tube holder to the top of the test tube.
8. Put on safety equipment and light the Bunsen burner. The flame should be lower
than normal, about 4 inches.
9. HEAT TEST TUBE OVER HOTTEST PART OF FLAME. POINT IT AWAY FROM
YOU OR ANYONE ELSE!
10. Watch the sugar in the test tube VERY CAREFULLY! Make observations of all
changes that occur during heating.
11. REMOVE TEST TUBE FROM FLAME BEFORE SUBSTANCE CAN RISE AS
HIGH AS THE TOP OF THE TUBE.
12. Place test tube in the test tube rack and allow it to cool. Record your
observations on your lab sheet as the test tube cools.
13. Find the mass of the test tube with the newly created substance and note it on
Table 1.
14. Clean up your area.

Name _______________________________
Date______________
Period ____
Data Table 1: Mass of Reactant and Product

REACTANT
(SUGAR)
Mass of sugar + test tube = _______g - Mass of test tube = _____g = _______g
PRODUCT
Mass of new substance + test tube = ______g test tube ______g = ________g
Mass of new substance (______g) is _______(<,>,=) mass of sugar (______g)
Data Table 2: Observations of New Substances (Products)
Describe any new substances and include their state(s) of matter

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

NAME 3 NEW SUBSTANCES THAT YOU THINK WERE FORMED

1. _________________ 2.___________________ 3. _________________
Complete the chemical formula for the burning sugar reaction.
Reactants
Products
C12H22O11 + 6O2 (Heat) 6 __________ + 6 __________ + 11 __________
Sugar + Oxygen (Heat) _____________ + _____________ + _____________
LAB QUESTIONS Answer the following Cornell Note Style on a separate sheet.
1. Name each substance that formed when the sugar was burned and reacted
with oxygen in the air. Include the observation or description of that
substance.
2. Name the state of matter that the three substances occurred in. (Hint: One
substance occurred in 2 states of matter)
3. What caused the sugar cube to be able to change into other substances? (see
background information)
4. Why did the black substance rise up in the test tube? (Hint: it was full of a
particular state of matter whose particles like to expand outward)
5. Where did the water come from? Why did it change state?
6. Where did the extra oxygen come from to create the carbon dioxide?
7. How did the mass of the substance in the test tube that was formed after burning
compare with the sugar in the test tube before burning?
8. Explain why the mass of the substance in the test tube is not the same as the
original mass of the sugar before burning. (Discuss how the sugar was
chemically changed, what products formed, and what happened to those
products. This should be a paragraph (5-8 sentences) in Iength)