Ashwin’

2008
Chemist
ry 12
Lab
Book
Course: SCH4U Electronic
Teacher: Mr. Linzel
Document
Introduction
The lab we are doing is a review of the Grade 11 unit Quantities in Chemical
Formulas. To understand this lab, we must know the basics first. We know that
atoms, ions and molecules are too small to see and that observable changes in
chemical reactions must involve extremely large numbers of these entities. To count
these large numbers, a precise and convenient way has been formulated to
determine their mass. This is called the mole. This is the number used by chemists
to define numbers of entities as small as atoms (SI symbol, mol). A mole is the
amount of substance containing 6.02x1023 of anything. This is knownas Avogadro’s
constant. We have been familiarized by solving for the variables of molar mass,
number of moles or mass by using the equation:

n=m
M
n= number of moles

m= mass

M= molar mass

Stochiometry is the relationship between quantities of reactants and products that

are involved in chemical reactions. Stochiometry is a very important in the fields of
industry, medicine and ecology. We also know that you must balance out formulas
for reactions. This is due to the fact that the mass of the products in a chemical
reaction is always equal to the mass of the reactants which is stated by the Law of
conservation of mass. Stochiometry is very important because it helps us determine
empirical formulas, which are the simplest forms of the chemical reaction.

Ex.

Na + O2  NaO 2Na + O2  2NaO

This is an obvious example of law of conservation of mass. If we look at the first

part of the reaction, we know that we cannot leave the equation like that. This
would mean that 2 parts of oxygen had been reacted to form one part of oxygen.
This would mean that one part of oxygen is missing. In accordance to the law of
conservation of mass, we know this is false. Therefore when we balance the
equation as shown in the next step, the number of each reactant is the same as the
number of each product.

For this lab, we must be able to tell if a chemical reaction or a physical reaction is
occurring. To know this we can tell which type of reaction is occurring by what is
happening in the reaction. We know that for chemical reactions a new substance is
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created. Indicators of a chemical reaction taking place are appearance, texture,
color, odor, melting point, boiling point, density, solubility, and polarity. Physical
reactions are reactions that simply change the state of the matter. Physical
reactions are reversible. An example is water turning to ice by the process of
freezing.

Purpose
Determine the formula for a copper chloride hydrate compound; including the moles
of the hydrate.

Hazardous Material Assessment

Copper Chloride - Copper Chloride is hazardous to eyes and can cause irritation to eyes,
skin, and respiratory tract and gastro intestines. Chopper Chloride should always be kept
in a tightly closed container. To dispose of this sample, follow federal, state and local
regulations.

Ethanol- Exposure over 1000pm of ethanol may cause headaches, irritation of eyes, nose
and throat. If ingested, it may cause blindness. Ethanol should be kept in a cool,
ventilated area which is kept away from heat. Oxidizing materials and strong acids
should be kept away from it. Ethanol should be disposed according to state regulations.

Hydrochloric Acid- Hydrochloric acid causes severe burns and may be fatal if inhaled or
swallowed. The vapor produced from the acid, is extremely irritating. It can cause
damage to the respiratory passages and lungs, irritation to the eyes, skin, respiratory tract
and gastrointestinal discomfort. Hydrochloric acid should be kept in a container that is
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tightly sealed in a well ventilated area away from incompatible materials. Hydrochloric
acid should be disposed in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local
regulations.

Procedure

1. Gathered required materials from materials list.

2. Used an electronic balance scale to mass, in grams, a pure crucible. Had used Sig Figs
at two decimal points.
3. 1.00 gram of Copper Chloride Hydrate was massed in a crucible on the electric
balance scale. Data was recorded in data table.
4. Used a clay triangle to support the crucible contacting the copper chloride hydrate.
Clay triangle was supported by an iron ring attached to the retort stand. This allowed
the crucible to be stable over the Bunsen burners flame.
5. Carefully lit the Bunsen burner and left a distance of 5-7 cm from crucible.
6. Had gently heated the crucible so that the green crystals had changed to a brown
color. This had identified evaporation of the hydrate from Copper Chloride.
7. Sample was left to cool before being massed. Once the sample had cooled, the mass
of the crucible in grams was recorded in data table. Mass of evaporated water was
found by simply subtracting mass of the crucible by itself.
8. Transferred the brown crystals (anhydrous copper chloride) in the crucible to a 50 ml
beaker. Had rinsed out the crucible with 16 ml of distilled water. The brown crystals
had dissolved in the distilled water by doing this.
9. The beaker was then swirled around to ensure that all crystals of copper chloride were
properly dissolved.
10. Placed a strip of aluminum wire of a mass of 0.25 grams into the beaker.
11. Observed the reaction between the aluminum wire and the copper chloride.
Observations were recorded in table.
12. A few drops of 6M of HCl were applied to dissolve remaining insoluble aluminum
salts.

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 13. Had used filter paper and folded it evenly twice to take the shape of the funnel. The
funnel was then placed inside a beaker.
14. Had carefully poured the solution into the funnel allowing it to filter into the beaker.
This had ensured that the copper chloride would remain in the filter paper.
15. Had placed a few drops of ethanol into the gravity filter to ensure only copper was
left in the filter.
16. Had taken the filter paper with the copper intact and placed it on a glass disk in the
incubator to dry.
17. Had then massed the filter paper with the copper on it. Had then subtracted the mass
of the filter paper from the total mass to get the reaming mass of the copper in grams.

Table of Materials and Equipment

Materials and Equipment Amount
Hydrochloric acid (HCl) 6M
Copper Chloride Hydrate 1.00g
95% Ethanol (C2H5OH) 10 Ml
Retort Stand 1
Crucible 1
Electronic Scale 1
Clay Triangle 1
Graduated Cylinder 1
Beaker 1x 50 ml
Glass Funnel 1
Filter Paper
1
Lab Goggles
1
Pipette
1
Aluminum Wire
1

Data Table

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Chemical Compounds & Mass of
Equipment Chemicals
and
Equipmen
t (grams)
Pure Crucible 11.84
Copper Chloride Hydrate 1.00
Copper Chloride Hydrate + 12.84
Crucible
Copper Chloride Anhydrous + 12.65
Crucible
Mass of Evaporated Water 0.21
Aluminum Strip 0.25
Filter Paper 0.52
Glass Disk 18.42
Copper + Filter Paper + Glass 19.32
Disk
Copper 0.38

Qualitative Table

Qualitative Observations

Process

Dehydrating H2O from Copper Chloride
While dehydrating the water from the
copper chloride, the sample had started
to turn a brownish color. As the time
increased, the green crystals started
becoming less visible. This was due to
the heat from the Bunsen burner. Once
all the crystals in the sample were
brown, it was massed three times to
make sure it had reached a constant
mass.

Hydrating Anhydrous Copper Chloride The brown Crystals were again mixed
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with Distilled Water
Adding an Aluminum Strip to the
Solution
Removing Copper from Aluminum Strip
with HCL
with distilled water. As this was done, the
brown crystals had turned back to a
turquoise color indicating the sample
was rehydrated.
When the aluminum strip was placed in
the copper chloride hydrate water
solution, it instantaneously reacted.
Bubbles and gas were visible during the
reaction which also releaseda fair
amount of heat. This process had
produced a single displacement reaction:
3CuCl2 + 2Al  2AlCl3 + 3Cu
The use of hydrochloric acid was
involved to remove any copper that had
still remained on the aluminum foil. The
HCl had reacted very fast with the
aluminum strip producing fizzing and
hydrogen gas.
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Data Analysis

Through the use of Stochiometry, the calculations state that the empirical formula
of the unknown copper chloride hydrate was

CuCl2 · 2H2O

This empirical formula was found by using the basic equation to find the number of
moles of chlorine, water and copper. You then take the number of moles and divide
it by the lowest number of moles. This gives you the number of moles in proportion
to one mole of the smallest molar volume.

Since Copper is a multivalent atom. It can have a charge of +1 or +2. In this lab we
were not told which copper we were using which means we had to analyze the
reactions and decide which copper would fit. CuCl would not fit the reaction due to
the fact that if CuCl was placed into distilled water, it wouldn’t dissolve. Also it
would definitely not change color due to it not dissolving. We know that CuCl2 would
dissociate since it was in an aqueoussolution. From this previous knowledge we can
conclude that it we had used CuCl2 in this reaction.

The formula was used to find the number of moles of each substance. The
mass was taken

from the data table and the molar mass was taken from the periodic table of
elements. This had concluded that the values were 1 for copper and 2 for chlorine
and water. Therefore the ratio was 1:2:2 in the copper (II) chloride dehydrate
compound.

To figure out where sources of error may exist, the equation to calculate Percentage
error was used.

We use this equation by taking the theoretical yield of copper which was 0.37g
subtract to the actually yield of 0.38g. This is then divided by the theoretical yield
and multiplied by 100 to give you a percentage of error. This had proven that the

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percentage error in this lab was 1.9%. This is a very low percentage and means that
the amount of error was low and that the experiment was done to a successful
standard.

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