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The Molar Volume of a Gas

Introduction
The molar volume is the volume occupied by one mole of gas. This volume is a
function of temperature and pressure.
In this experiment you will react a known mass of magnesium with an excess of
hydrochloric acid (HCl) to produce hydrogen gas as shown:
Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) --> MgCl
2
(aq) + H
2
(g)
The hydrogen gas produced will be collected by the displacement of water. You
will then compute the volume at standard conditions using the gas model and
equations. The STP volume will be used to calculate the molar volume of
hydrogen gas.
Since you will be working with small quantities of materials, it is essential that you
work with great care.
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Procedure
1. Fill a 600-mL beaker about 3/4 full with water.
2. Obtain a short piece of magnesium ribbon from your instructor. Record its
length to the nearest mm in your data table. Also record the mass of 1 meter
of magnesium ribbon. This data will be provided by your instructor.
3. Obtain a piece of cotton thread about 10 cm long. Tie one end around the
piece of magnesium ribbon, leaving about 7-8 cm of thread free. Gently
bend the piece of magnesium ribbon so it will fit into a 10-mL graduated
cylinder.
4. Obtain 3 mL of 3 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) in your 10mL graduated
cylinder, taking care to keep it off your skin.
5. Using a plastic squeeze bottle or a dropper, and using care to mix the acid
and water gently, fill the graduated cylinder to the top with distilled water.
6. Lower the piece of magnesium ribbon into the graduated cylinder, coiling 1-
2 cm extra thread into the top. Drape the remaining thread over the edge of
the graduated cylinder and firmly insert a one-hole cork stopper. If there is
an air space, add water through the hole in the cork.
7. Place your finger over the hole in the cork and invert the graduated cylinder.
Lower the stoppered end of the graduated cylinder into the beaker of water.
Note any evidence of a chemical reaction.
8. Allow the apparatus to stand for 5 minutes after the magnesium has
completely reacted. Then, tap the sides gently to dislodge any gas bubbles
that may have become attached to the sides of the graduated cylinder.
9. Move the graduated cylinder vertically (keeping the open end submerged)
until the water level inside the cylinder is the same as the water level in the
beaker. This is done to equalize the pressure of the gas trapped inside the
cylinder with atmospheric pressure. Read the volume of gas in the cylinder.
(Remember, the scale is upside down.)
10. Record the temperature of the water and barometric pressure.
11. Repeat the experiment.
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Questions
1. The accepted value for molar volume of any gas at STP is 22.4 L. Compute
the absolute difference between the accepted value and the average value
obtained from these experimental data. Calculate the percent error.
2. Identify possible sources of error in this experiment.
3. Identify the other product of the reaction. What happens to that product?
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Data Analysis
1. Calculate the mass of the piece of magnesium strip using the known mass
per meter of strip and the length of the strip used. You may assume the
magnesium ribbon was of uniform thickness and width.
2. Calculate the moles of Mg reacted (the atomic mass of magnesium is 24.3).
The number of moles of H
2
produced is equal to the number of moles of
magnesium consumed.
3. Since you collected the gas over water, it is considered to be wet. The total
pressure of a gas mixture is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of each
gas, in this case, hydrogen and water vapor. Find the pressure exerted by the
water vapor in the graduated cylinder by using a table for the pressure of
water vapor as a function of temperature:
Phydrogen = Pbarometric - Pwater
4. Convert water temperature from Celsius to Kelvin.
5. Find the volume of gas generated by finding the difference in water
volumes.
6. Find the volume of hydrogen gas at STP using the gas laws.
7. Calculate the molar volume of hydrogen gas using the information from
your experimental results. If X mL (your corrected volume) of hydrogen gas
are produced by Y moles of hydrogen (the number of moles that were
formed), the molar volume is X/Y.
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Data Sheet
Trial 1 Trial 2 Avg of 2
length of Mg ribbon (mm)
mass of 1 meter Mg ribbon (g)
vol of hydrogen (mL)
water temperature (C)
barometric pressure (torr)
water vapor pressure (torr)
observations
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Safety
Wear safety glasses and protective clothing at all times when working in the
laboratory.

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TG Answers
1. Calculate percentage error
% Error= 100% X (theoretical value - experimental value)/ (theoretical
value)
2. Main sources of error are in measurement of length (and mass) of the
magnesium and the volume of hydrogen.
3. The magnesium chloride is present in solution as Mg
2+
and Cl
-
ions.
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TG Data Table
1. Find the mass of the Mg ribbon (assuming a length of 1 cm)
0.01 meter/1.00 meter = x grams/mass of a 1-meter length
2. Calculate the number of moles of Mg reacted (which is equal to the number
moles of hydrogen produced)
#moles magnesium=mass magnesium reacted/(24.3 g/mol Mg)
3. Find the pressure exerted by the dry hydrogen gas
Phydrogen = Pbarometric - Pwater
(The vapor pressure of water at various temperatures can be found in a
chemistry handbook)
4. Convert water temperature from Celsius to Kelvin
K = C + 273
5. Correct the volume of dry hydrogen from laboratory conditions to STP.
6. Calculate the molar volume.
molar volume = mL of hydrogen gas at STP/moles of hydrogen produced
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TG Materials
6 mL 3M hydrochloric acid (90 mL/15 lab pairs) (add 25 mL concentrated
HCl to 50 mL of distilled water slowly with stirring. Add enough distilled
water to bring the final volume to 100 mL.)
2 1-cm lengths magnesium ribbon (The instructor must carefully weigh one
meter sections of magnesium ribbon and give this information to the
students. It is important the the length of the magnesium strips be about 1
cm. Longer lengths will lead to production of too large a volume of gas;
lengths of 0.9 cm or less are preferred.)
10-mL graduated cylinder
#2 cork stopper with one hole which can be bored with a #1 cork borer
600-mL beaker
20 cm cotton thread (one spool)
plastic squeeze bottle or dropper
ring stand
clamp
thermometer
Lab #6 Mole-to-Mole Relationships in a Chemical Reaction
General Discussion
In this experiment you will carry out a reaction between metallic copper
atoms and silver ions in solution to produce copper ions in solution and
metallic silver atoms. The objective will be to determine the mole ratio
between silver and copper in the reaction.

The equation, shown without coefficients, is:
Cu(s) + Ag
+
(aq) ------> Cu
+2
(aq) + Ag(s)
The symbols in parentheses, tell the physical state or condition of the atom
or ion involved. Once the mole ratio is determined, it may be converted to a
whole number ratio, and the numbers placed in front of the symbols for
copper and silver. The result should be a balanced equation with the atoms
of product equal in number to the atoms of reactant. Stoichiometric
calculations are based on the coefficients in a correctly balanced equation.

Objectives:
1. To experimentally determine the mole ratio between the participants in a
chemical reaction.
2. To experimentally determine the coefficients in an equation for a
reaction.

Materials: Copper wire, balance, 250-mL beaker, silver nitrate solution,
retort stand, wire quaze

Procedure
1. Obtain a piece of heavy copper wire about 20 cm long. Form the lower
part into an elongated coil, and bend it to form a hook at the opposite end.
Carefully weigh the copper to the nearest 0.01 g and record the mass in the
data table.
2. Carefully weigh a clean, dry, 250 mL beaker to the nearest 0.01 g.
3. Add about 150 mL of 0.2 M silver nitrate solution (0.2 moles of silver
nitrate in 1 Litre of solution) into the weighed beaker.
Caution: Silver nitrate solution stains. I f you get any on you or spill any on
the desk wash it off immediately.) Check with the teacher for advice on
removing stains.
4. Suspend the coil of copper in the silver nitrate solution by hanging the
hook over a glass stirring rod or over the side of the beaker. Do not let the
coil touch the bottom of the beaker.
5. Place the beaker on the counter top in a quiet place until the next day.
6. Carefully shake the silver from the copper coil into the beaker. Using a
wash bottle rinse the coil and then allow it to dry. Weigh and record its
mass. If red particles of copper appear in the solution, add 3-5 mL of the 0.2
M silver nitrate solution. Decant the solution.
7. Add 10 to 15 ml of distilled water to the silver in the beaker and then
carefully decant (pour the water off). Repeat the washing process at least
three times. Do not be concerned if a few silver crystals are lost in the
process, as this loss is usually negligible.
8. Dry the silver in the beaker by placing it on a wire quaze and warming
until the water is evaporated off. Heat and reheat until consecutive
weighings agree within 2%.

Data Table
1. mass of copper coil before reaction ______ g
2. mass of copper coil after reaction ______ g
3. mass of copper used in the reaction ______ g
4. mass of beaker and dry silver ______ g
5. mass of empty beaker ______ g
6. mass of silver produced in reaction ______ g
7. moles of solid copper used in reaction ______ mol
8. moles of solid silver produced in reaction ______ mol

Followup Discussion
The numbers obtained for items 7 and 8 in the table represent the mole
ratio of Cu and Ag. These fractioanl numbers may be used as coefficients in
front of the symbols in the equation. However, it is generally desirable to
use whole number coefficients whenever possible. A close approximation of
whole number ratios may be obtained by dividing both experimentally
determined coefficients by the smallest of the two numbers; that is, the
moles of copper. When a chemical equation is correctly balanced, the
number of atoms on the left and right sides of the equation are balanced, as
are the units of electric charge.

Follow-up Questions
1. Write the equation for the reaction between copper and silver ion.
Include your experimentally determined mole ratios as fractional
coefficients. Convert the fractional coefficients to a whole number ratio and
rewrite the equation using the whole number ratio. How do these ratios
compare with the correct whole number ratios furnished by the teacher?




2. List some of the sources of experimental error in this experiment.





3. If the silver in the beaker contained water during your last weighing,
how would this affect your results?





4. Assume that magnesium metal would act atom-for-atom exactly the
same as copper in this experiment. How many grams of magnesium would,
have been used in the reaction if one gram of silver were produced? The
atomic mass of magnesium is 24.31 g/mol.




5. Account for the blue colour produced in the solution.

All About Mole Calculations

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How to do calculations between moles,
atoms or molecules, and grams of a substance
One of the main problems that beginning chemistry students have is in
doing conversions between grams, moles, and molecules (or atoms).
Usually, a question will be asked of you in the following form:
How many moles are in 22 grams of copper metal?
If you're confused by this problem, don't worry. Most people are when they
start doing this kind of problem. To make life easier for you, I put together a
"road map" which tells you exactly what you need to do to convert between
atoms (or molecules), grams, and moles.


You should read this picture the same as you would read a subway map.
For example, if you want to go from King
Street in Alexandria toNational Airport on the Blue line of the Metro, you
need to first go to the Braddock Road station. The same thing is true here -
if a problem tells you to go from atoms to grams, you need to first go
through moles before you do anything else. In our example that we're
discussing, though, we are making a one-stop trip.
Example: How many moles are in 22 grams of copper metal?
In all problems like this, you need to go through four steps to find a
solution.

The Four Steps to Solving Mole Problems:

Step 1: Figure out how many parts your calculation will have by using the
diagram
Looking at the diagram above, we can see that we are going between
grams and moles, which is a one-step conversion. Furthermore, we can
see that we need to use the atomic mass of copper as our conversion
factor.
Step 2: Make a T-chart, and put whatever information the problem gave
you in the top left. After that, put the units of whatever you were given in the
bottom right of the T, and the units of what you want to find in the top right.
In this case, the problem gave you "22 grams of copper" as the starting
information. Because this is what you were given, put "22 grams of copper"
in the top left of the T. Since "grams of copper" is the unit of what you were
given, put this in the bottom right of the T. Since you want to find out how
many moles of copper are going to be made, put "moles of copper" as your
unit in the top right. When you've done this, your calculation should look
like this:


Step 3: Put the conversion factors into the T-chart in front of the units on
the right.
As we saw from the "map", the conversion factor between grams and
moles is the atomic mass of copper. Because we measure atomic mass in
grams, you need to put the atomic mass in front of the unit "grams of
copper". What do you put in front of moles? Whenever you do a calculation
of this kind, you need to put "1" in front of moles, like you see here:


Step 4: Cancel out the units from the top left and bottom right, then find the
answer by multiplying all the stuff on the top together and dividing it by the
stuff on the bottom.
In this case, you'd multiply 22 by one and divide the result by 63.5. Your
answer, 0.35 moles of copper:


And that's how you do a one-step problem of this kind!

Solving Two-Step Mole Calculation Problems:
What happens if we need to solve a problem that requires we not just go
from one box in the next in our diagram, but across the entire diagram?
Well, it means that we need to do two steps in our calculation. Let's see
that "map" again to see what I mean:


If we were asked to convert 22 grams of copper to atoms of copper, we'd
have to go from one end of the map to the other. Instead of doing a simple
one step calculation, we'd need to do a two-step calculation, with the first
step going from grams to moles and the second step going from moles to
atoms.
How can we solve this kind of problem? Well, we start off by doing the
same thing that we did in our last example: We had to convert grams to
moles before, and we can see from the map that we have to convert grams
to moles now, too. To refresh your memory, here's the calculation from last
time:


In the next step, we do the same thing over again, except that we need to
add another T to the T-chart. When you do this, take the units of the thing
at the new top left and put them on the bottom right (in this case, moles).
Then take the units of what you want (in this case, atoms) and put it in the
top right. Finally, put in your conversion factors, which from the chart above
is Avogadro's number, or 6.02E23. Since this number refers to the number
of atoms in a mole of a substance, we put this in front of "atoms of copper".
Again, put the number "1" in front of moles, because we're saying that there
are 6.02E23 atoms in ONE mole of an element.
When we add all these terms in, we can cross out the units that cancel out,
as shown. To get the answer, multiply all the numbers on the top together
and divide by the numbers on the bottom. Your answer should then be set
up like this:


And that's how you do mole problems!

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