Investigating whether mass is conserved in a reaction

by Zoe Truong

Lab Performed on: November 5th

Lab Partners: Ryan Shaykevich, Logan Weagle

Lab Report Due: November 14th

Course Teacher: Ms. Ahari

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 SNC2D Chemistry Unit Summative Lab:
What happens to the total mass during a chemical reaction?
Purpose:
To investigate whether mass is conserved in a reaction.

Hypotheses:

Part A:
If Iron Nitrate reacts with sodium hydroxide, then the total mass would stay the same because there is no gas
released during the reaction.

Part B:
If baking soda (NaHCO3) reacts with hydrochloric acid, then the total mass would decrease because gas is
released during the reaction.

Safety Precautions:
 Do not bring substances into contact with skin, eyes and clothes.
 Report spills or broken glass to the teacher.

Materials & Apparatus:

See Lab Handout for a list of the material used. The following are materials and apparatus that have been
changed from the list.

 0.26g of baking soda.

 11.43g of hydrochloric acid.

Procedure:

Part A:
1. The empty test tube was held and slid into the empty Erlenmeyer flask as practiced. This was sealed with a
rubber stopper to check that the test tube fits and a tight seal was formed by the stopper. This process was
repeated a few times.
2. 5 mL of sodium hydroxide solution was measured using the graduated cylinder. This was then poured
carefully into the empty Erlenmeyer flask.
3. 5 mL of Iron(III) nitrate was poured into the mini test tube. The Erlenmeyer flask was slightly tilted and the
test tube was carefully slid into it without mixing the contents. The flask was sealed with the stopper.
4. The appearance of each of the reactants in the flask (before mixing) was observed and recorded in Table
1. Physical property terms were used.
5. The electronic balance was ensured that it reads zero. The sealed flask was placed on the electronic
balance and total mass of the flask and its contents was recorded in Table 1.
6. The flask was slowly tipped to allow all of the two solutions to mix. The appearance of the mixed solution
was recorded in Table 1.
7. The flask was placed on the zeroed electronic balance and the total mass was recorded in Table 1.
8. All equipment was cleaned as directed and put back where they were taken.

Part B:
1. The electronic balance was zeroed and the dry, empty beaker was placed on it.
2. About 0.26g of sodium bicarbonate was added into the beaker. The total mass of the sodium bicarbonate
and the beaker was recorded in the Observation Section for Part B.
3. The dry, empty graduated cylinder was placed on the zeroed electronic balance.
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4. 10 mL hydrochloric acid was added to the graduated cylinder. The total mass of the hydrochloric acid the
measured and recorded in the Observation Section for Part B.
5. The total initial mass of the reactants (chemicals only) was calculated. Work was shown in the Calculation
section (below Table 2) and the final answer was entered in Table 2.
6. The physical properties of sodium bicarbonate and hydrochloric acid was recorded before being mixed, in
Table 2.
7. All of the hydrochloric acid was poured into the beaker containing sodium bicarbonate and then swirled to
mix well.
8. The appearance of the mixture was recorded when the visible reaction stopped. The total mass of the
beaker and its contents was measured and recorded in the Observation Section for Part B.
9. The total mass of the products (chemicals only) was calculated. Work was shown in the Calculation section
(below Table 1) and the final answered was entered in Table 1.

Observations:

Part A:

Table 1: Chemical Reaction in a Closed Environment

Name of Solution Appearance of Total Mass Appearance of Total Mass

Reactants Before before Solutions after after
Mixing Mixing (g) Mixing Mixing (g)
Sodium hydroxide 158.67 Orange 158.72
Transparent, Precipitate
colorless, A solid was
odourless formed
Iron (III) nitrate
Yellow, translucent

Part B:

BEFORE reaction:

Mass of dry, empty beaker: 65.89g

Total mass of sodium bicarbonate and beaker: 66.15g
Mass of 10 mL hydrochloric acid: 38.26g
AFTER reaction:
Total mass of the beaker and its contents: 76.43g
Table 2: Chemical Reaction in an Open Environment
Name of Solution Appearance of Total Mass Appearance of Total Mass
Reactants Before (Reactants Solutions after (Products
Mixing only) before Mixing only) after
Mixing (g) Mixing (g)
Sodium bicarbonate 11.69 transparent 10.54
White, powder

Hydrochloric acid
Colourless,
transparent

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Calculations:
1. Show calculation of the total initial mass of the reactants (chemicals only) in Part B. Include equation.

2. Show calculation of the total mass of the products (chemicals only) in Part B. Include equation.

Analyze and Evaluate:

In the table below, record the changes in mass found by your group and four other groups. Remember that an
increase in mass would be recorded as a positive and a decrease in mass would be recorded as a negative.
Calculate the average change in mass.
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 Change in Mass for Part A (g)
Your Group Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Average

0.04 1.35 1.35 2 0 0.948

In the table below, record the changes in mass found by your group and four other groups. Calculate the
average change in mass.
Change in Mass for Part B (g)
Your Group Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Average

-1.15 -0.040 -0.039 -0.19 -0.24 -0.3318

Table 3: Summary of Results

Sample Calculations for Table 3:

(i) The change in mass for Part A. Include equation.

(ii) The change in mass for Part B. Include equation.

(iii) The average change in mass for the entire class for Part A. Include equation.

Experimental Errors:

 The air in the room may cause the electronic balance to vibrate so that it does not zero. Therefore, the
measurements may be slightly wrong.

 The substances may not be completely transferred from one test tube to another one, making the total
mass change.
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Application Questions:

1. The products of the reaction in Part A were iron (III) hydroxide and sodium nitrate. Write the word
equation and the balanced chemical equation for this reaction.

2. The products of the reaction in Part B were water, carbon dioxide, and sodium chloride. Write the word
equation and the balanced chemical equation for this reaction.

3. Why was the average change in mass calculated, rather than using your individual result? Give one
reason why results might vary within the same part of the lab.

The average change in mass was calculated because the amount of chemicals (for example: sodium
bicarbonate) were given to each group were different.
Results might vary because the steps done by each group may not be exactly the same, which causes
differences in the results from each group.

4. Account for the difference in observations between Part A and Part B.

In Part A: sodium hydroxide reacts with iron (III) nitrate to form iron (III) hydroxide and sodium nitrate,
where iron (III) hydroxide is a solid. This is called a precipitate. The products are orange.
In Part B: sodium bicarbonate reacts with hydrochloric acid to form sodium chloride, hydrogen gas and
oxygen gas. The physical property of the product is liquid. The product is transparent and colorless.

Conclusion:

Part A: In this part, the mass before slightly increased, from 158.67g to 158.72g, which resulted in a very small
change of 0.05g. My hypothesis was still verified even though a small change occurred because errors during
the reactions for example, air may cause the electronic balance to vibrate, which made the measurements to
be slightly off.

Part B: In this part, the mass before decreased, from 11.69g to 10.54g, which resulted in a small change of
1.15g. My hypothesis was verified because, as stated above, in this chemical reaction, two gases were
released, which are hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide, they may easily float away. Therefore, the total mass
before decreased.

In part A, no gas was released while gases were released in Part B. Moreover, a precipitate was formed in Part
A because two liquids reacted to produce a solid; meanwhile, apart from hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide, the
final product in Part B is in liquid state.

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 CHEMISTRY UNIT SUMMATIVE LAB
What happens to the total mass during a chemical reaction?

Name:Zoe Truong Report Due Date: November 14th

Knowledge and Understanding /10

 Write the “If.......then.......because......” statement for this lab. 0 1 2
Hypothesis (pre-lab)
 Explanation given and correct 0 1 2

Materials and  Complete list

Apparatus  Quantities and volumes given 0 1 2
Method  Procedure is typed and listed in past passive tense (report)
 Procedure is complete (report) 0 1 2

Safety
Precautions  Listed 2 safety precautions related to this lab. 0 1 2

Thinking and Investigation /10

Calculations  Calculation of Part B (total reactants mass) (incl. equation)
0 1 2
 Calculation of Part B (total products mass) (incl. equation)
 Calculation for Table 3 (incl. equations)
0 1 2
Analyze and  Q4 (accounted for results in parts A and B) 0 1 2
Evaluate  Q3 (Class results consistency and importance)
 Worked diligently throughout the entire period and focused on 0 1 2
the task at hand 0 1
 Worked safety (goggles, no horseplay)
0 1

Communication /10

Observation  Physical properties complete and correct (for both Obs. 0 2 4 6

Tables and Data Tables)
Format:  Report is neatly typed and organized with section headers 0 1
 Proper title page, title of the lab is underlined, partners’ full 0 1
names, date of lab, report due date, teacher’s name
 Proper use of terms, spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. 0 1
 You have stapled and handed in this marking scheme 0 1

Application /10

Questions  Question 1 (Skeleton and balanced equations) 0 1 2

 Question 2 (Skeleton and balanced equations) 0 1 2
 Answered all of the questions in a well-thought manner 0 1

Experimental  At least two unavoidable errors given and explained

Errors 0 1 2
 Results stated. Hypothesis evaluated.
Conclusion:  Logical reasoning and explanations 0 1 2 3

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