Jonathan Khan February 25, 2011

Ms. Crowley Determination of a Chemical Formula Lab

1. Procedure for determining the amount of water present in the hydrated sample.

a. In order to determine the amount of water present in a hydrated sample, rinse out an evaporating

dish with pure water, and dry the dish by heating it with an intense flame until all of the water

has been driven off. Allow the dish to cool, and mass the dish on an electronic balance scale.

Proceed to, measure out and mass approximately one gram of the hydrated sample (CuCl2 •

(H2O)2 in this experiment). The hydrated sample should be a green color before heating. Proceed

to heat the hydrated crystals to drive off the water. As the crystals are heated, they will turn from

the hydrated green color, to the anhydrous brown color. When the sample has turned completely

brown, allow the sample to cool, place the dish back on the scale record the mass of the dish and

the anhydrous crystal. In order to determine the mass of the water driven off, take the mass of the

anhydrous crystal, and dish, and subtract it from the mass of the hydrated crystal and dish. This

will give the mass of water driven off. To determine the mass of the anhydrous crystal, take the

mass of the hydrated crystal (mass of evaporating dish and hydrated crystal minus the mass of

the empty evaporating dish), and subtract the mass of the water evaporated from it.

b. To determine the number of moles of water present in the sample, take the mass of the water that

was driven off, and divide it by the molar mass of water (18.016 g/mol).

2. Procedure for determining the amount of copper present in the hydrated sample.

a. In order to determine the amount of copper present in the sample by mass, take the anhydrous

sample, and empty it into a small beaker. Using two 5-7 mL amounts of water wash any

remaining bits of anhydrous from the evaporating dish into a beaker. The resulting solution will

turn a green color as the copper ions are rehydrated. Insert a piece of pure aluminum into the
 solution and allow the reaction to proceed until the solution turns clear. The resulting “blobs” in

the solution will be pure copper. Mass pieces of filter paper, fold it into quarters, and insert it

into a decanting funnel. Slowly decant the solution from the beaker with the copper, into an

empty beaker. Once all of the liquid has left the funnel, carefully remove the weigh paper, place

it on a watch glass, and place that setup under a heat lamp, or in an incubator overnight to

evaporate all of the remaining water in the sample. Once the sample is dry, place it back on the

electronic balance, and record the mass that is observed. To calculate the mass of copper in the

original sample, subtract the mass of the empty filter paper from the mass of the filter paper with

the copper on it.

b. To determine the number of moles of copper present in the sample, take the calculated mass of

the copper in the sample, and divide it by the molar mass of copper (63.55 g/mol).

3. Procedure for determining the amount of chlorine present in the hydrated sample.

a. In order to determine the amount of chlorine present by mass in the hydrated sample, take the

original mass of the hydrated sample, and from that subtract the combined masses of water

evaporated, and mass of copper in the sample.

b. To determine the number of moles of chlorine present in the sample, take the calculated mass of

chlorine in the sample, and divide it by the molar mass of chlorine (35.43 g/mol).

4. Procedure for calculating the chemical formula of the sample.

a. Set up a mole ratio of Cu:Cl:H2O. Round each number to the nearest integer.
5. Some sources of error in this laboratory experiment are:

a. Thermal Decomposition of the salt:

i. Thermally decomposing some of the salt during the heating process will result in a lower

mass of dehydrated sample. This is because when the salt is thermally decomposed, some

of the chlorine on the crystal is released due to the force of attraction being broken. This

lower mass will indicate that there is a larger amount of water by mass, and therefore

may cause a larger number for the amount of mols of water in the hydrate.

b. Some of the crystals sticking to the stirring rod during the heating process:

i. During the heating process to drive off the water in the hydrated crystal, large clumps of

crystals were broken up with a glass stirring rod to allow for a more even heating. Some

of the crystals may stick to the rod which would indicate a lower mass when the mass of

the anhydrous was taken. Thus indicating that there is a higher percentage composition of

water in the hydrated salt. Leading to the incorrect calculation of the hydrated

compound’s chemical formula.

c. Not completely drying the sample of pure copper:

i. If the sample of copper is not completely dried after decanting, not only will there be

incorrect calculations for the number of moles of copper present in the sample, but there

will also be an incorrect calculation for the number of moles of chlorine present in the

sample, because the mass of copper is used to help derive the number of grams (then

moles) of chlorine in the sample. This may in turn lead to the incorrect chemical formula,

because the number of moles of chlorine will be lower based on how much water was not

evaporated.
Math:

Mass of Hydrated Sample:

56.33g – 55.32g = 1.01g

Mass of Anhydrous Sample:

1.01g – 0.24g = 7.70 x 10-1g

Mass of Copper in Sample:

1.63g – 1.23g = 4.00 x 10-1g

Number of Moles of Copper in Sample:

4.00 x 10-1g 1 mol = 6.29 x 10-3 mols
1 63.55g

Mass of water evaporated from sample:

56.33g – 56.09g = 2.40 x 10-1g

Number of Moles of Water in Sample:

2.40 x 10-1g 1 mol = 1.33 x 10-2 mols
1 18.016g

Mass of Chlorine in Sample (by Difference):

1.01g – (4.00 x 10-1g + 2.40 x 10-1g) = 3.70 x 10-1g

Number of moles of Chlorine in Sample:

3.70 x 10-1g 1 mol = 1.04 x 10-2 mols
1 35.45g

Mole Ratio, Cl:Cu in Sample:

1.04 x 10-2 mols = 1.65:1
6.29 x 10-3 mols

Mole Ratio, H2O:Cu in Sample:

1.33 x 10-2 mols = 1.22:1
6.29 x 10-3 mols

Formula of a Dehydrated Sample:

CuCl2

Formula of Hydrated Sample:

CuCl2 • (H2O)2