4th Hour

September 30, 2010

Overall this was a great lab. The background was the only section that I took off
points. I felt that ideas needed to be connected a little better so the paragraph had
better flow.
Determination of a Chemical Formula
Purpose
The objective of this lab is to find the formula of copper chloride hydrate, which
has a general formula of CuxCly zH2O. This will be done by finding the masses of
copper, chlorine, and water in a sample of the substance. The water will be evaporated off
and the chlorine will be filtered out.
Background
The law of conservation of mass states that the mass before a reaction is the same
as the mass after a reaction. Because of this law, the masses of the components of copper
chloride hydrate can be determined after performing various experiments on the
substance. The composition of a pure substance, regardless of its source, is the same, as
stated by the law of definite proportions. This means the empirical formula is the same
for every sample of copper chloride hydrate. The law of multiple proportions states that
elements combine in small, whole number ratios. This will be helpful in finding the
chemical formula of copper chloride hydrate. A chemical formula is composed of
symbols and corresponding numerical subscripts that give the proportions of the atoms of
the elements in a substance. The empirical formula is the simplest ratio of these atoms.
The empirical formula can be determined by calculating the mole ratio of the substance.
A mole is a unit in chemistry that represents an amount of molecules, ions, or
atoms. By definition, a mole is the number of atoms in 12 grams of 12C. The number of
atoms in 12 grams of 12C is approximately 6.02 x 1023 (called Avogadros number). The
mass of an element is equal to the number of moles of that element. For example,
hydrogen has a mass of one gram, which is equal to one mole of hydrogen, while, oxygen
has a mass of sixteen grams, which is equal to one mole of oxygen.
This is then used to determine the chemical formula of a substance. First,
determine the masses of the atoms of the elements in the substance, and then convert it to
moles. The ratio of the moles of each atom in the substance is the mole ratio, which is
then used to determine the chemical formula. The mole ratio of the atoms becomes the
subscripts that correspond to that element. Take water, for example. There are two moles
of hydrogen for every one mole of oxygen in water. Therefore, the chemical formula is
H2O. By determining the masses of the components of the substance, it is possible to
calculate the chemical formula.
Procedure
First, find the mass of the water in the sample by massing the sample before and
after heating it. Heating the sample causes the water to evaporate off. Then, combine the
sample with water and aluminum wire. After adding hydrochloric acid, remove the
aluminum wire, leaving metallic copper in a solution with aluminum salt. Next, use a
funnel and filter paper to filter out the aluminum salt, which leaves only copper. Finally,
after adding ethanol to the copper and allowing it to dry under a heat lamp, mass the final
substance.

4th Hour
September 30, 2010

Data
Raw Data
Mass of Crucible
Mass of Crucible and Hydrated Sample
Mass of Crucible and Dehydrated Sample
Mass of Empty Watch Glass
Mass of Filter Paper
Mass of Watch Glass, Filter Paper, and Copper

12.972 g
13.968 g
13.762 g
18.391 g
0.954 g
19.728 g

Inferred Data
Mass of Hydrated Sample
Mass of Dehydrated Sample
Mass of Copper
Number of Moles of Copper
Mass of Water Evolved
Number of Moles of Water
Mass of Chlorine in Sample
Number of Moles of Chlorine
Mole Ratio, Chlorine : Copper in Sample
Mole Ratio, Water : Copper in Hydrated Sample
Formula of Dehydrated Sample
Formula of Hydrated Sample

0.996 g
0.790 g
0.383 g
0.00603 mol
0.206 g
0.0114 mol
0.407 g
0.0115 mol
2:1 (1.91:1)
2:1 (1.89:1)
CuCl2
CuCl2 2H2O

Actual Values
Mass of Copper
Mass of Water
Mass of Chlorine
Formula of Dehydrated Sample
Formula of Hydrated Sample
Percent Error for Copper
Percent Error for Water
Percent Error for Chlorine

0.371 g
0.210 g
0.414 g
CuCl2
CuCl2 2H2O
3.23%
1.90%
1.69%

Observations
The hydrated sample was a blue-green color and it was in clumps. Heating the
sample caused the color to change to brown, and it had an unpleasant odor. After it
cooled, it still looked brown and was clumped. Adding the aluminum wire caused the
mixture to fizz and bubble. It also made a soft popping noise because of the fizzing. The
color turned from blue to a colorless, foggy mixture. The copper that attached to the wire
was a bronze color and it attached to the wire in clumps. The filtered solution was still
colorless and foggy. At the conclusion of the experiment, the copper was a bronze color
and it was in clumps.

4th Hour
September 30, 2010

Calculations
Mass of Hydrated Sample
Mass of Crucible and Hydrated Sample Mass of Crucible = Mass of Hydrated Sample
13.968 g 12.972 g 0.996 g

Mass of Dehydrated Sample

Mass of Crucible and Dehydrated Sample Mass of Crucible = Mass of Dehydrated
Sample
13.762 g 12.972 g 0.790 g

Mass of Copper
Mass of Watch Glass, Filter Paper, and Copper Mass of Empty Watch Glass Mass of
Filter Paper = Mass of Copper
19.728 g 18.391g 0.954 g 0.383g

Mass of Water
Mass of Hydrated Sample Mass of Dehydrated Sample = Mass of Water
0.996 g 0.790 g 0.206 g

Number of Moles of Copper

Mass of Copper from
Experiment

0.383 g Cu

1 Mole Copper
Molar Mass of
Copper
1 mol Cu
63.546 g Cu

= Number of Moles of Copper

in Sample

= 0.00603 mol Cu

Mass of Chlorine
Mass of Dehydrated Sample Mass of Copper = Mass of Chlorine
0.790 g 0.383 g 0.407 g

Mole Ratio, Chlorine: Copper in Sample

Number of Moles of Chlorine Number of Moles of Copper = Mole Ratio, Chlorine:Copper
0.0115 mol Cl 0.00603 mol Cu = 1.91
2 Cl : 1 Cu
Formula of Dehydrated Sample
Mole Ratio of Chlorine : Copper
CuCl2

4th Hour
September 30, 2010

Formula of Hydrated Sample

Formula of Dehydrated Sample and Mole Ratio of Water : Copper
CuCl2 2H2O
Percent Error: Copper
Molar Mass of Copper Molar Mass Copper Chloride Hydrate = Percent Composition
of Copper
63.546 g Cu 170.4816 g CuCl2 2H2O = 0.37275
Mass of Hydrated Sample x Percent Composition = Theoretical Mass of Copper
0.996g Cu x 0.37275 = 0.371g Cu
Theoretica l Actual
100 % Error
Theoretica l
0.371g 0.383 g
100 3.23% Error
0.371g

Results
I found the chemical formula of copper chloride hydrate to be CuCl2 2H2O,
which is the correct chemical formula.
Error Analysis
The percent error for copper is 3.23 percent, which is 0.012 grams too high; the
percent error for chlorine it is 1.69 percent, which is 0.007 grams too low; and the percent
error for water it is 1.90 percent, which is 0.004 grams too low. An explanation for this is
that not all of the water had evaporated off of the copper when it was taken out of oven at
the end of the experiment. The oven was opened many times, which allowed some heat to
escape. Also, there were many other samples of copper in the oven that had water
evaporating off. This means there was a build up of water in the oven, lengthening the
time it would take the water to evaporate. We waited about an hour and a half before
massing the copper, which may not have been enough time considering the build up of
water and the fact that heat was escaping. It would have been assumed that the added
mass of water was copper, causing the data to show the mass of copper to be higher than
it should have been. This would cause the mass of chlorine to be lower than it should
have been (the mass of copper was used to find the mass of chlorine). An error for the
lower amount of water would have occurred at the beginning of the experiment. Possibly,
all of the water may not have evaporated off of the compound when it was heated, or the
compound rehydrated as it was cooling. Therefore, when the dehydrated substance was
massed, there were still some water atoms in the substance. However, it was assumed that
all the water had evaporated off, so any water that remained was assumed to be copper
chloride. This would cause the mass of water to be lower than the actual value, which
was the case. Another reason for the error is that in massing something a few times, there
may have been unwanted mass. Some unwanted mass could have been oil from our hands
or something such as water from the table. This would unintentionally increase the mass
of that item, but only by a small value. This is a reasonable explanation, because the
percent error was very low.