Determining the Percentage Composition of a Mixture

Purpose:
Name:
___________________________
To determine the percent composition of a mixture.
Background:
You and your lab partner will be given a heterogeneous mixture consisting of four
different substances and asked to separate the mixture based on their physical
properties. The purpose of the experiment is to determine what percentage of the
mixtures mass is due to each of the various substances; therefore, the separation
should be done quantitatively, so that you can determine the percent
composition of each component. Before beginning the experiment, we will review
the necessary safety precautions and laboratory techniques. Finally, you will each
submit an formal lab report with the following sections see the instruction page
given later in class.
Your lab report needs these sections. Include section headings for 3-9 in your lab
book:
1. Title Information filled out
6. Actual procedure
2. Scientific Title
7. Results
3. Purpose
8. Calculations
4. Notes on Procedure questions
9. Interpretation
5. First draft of procedure
Safety Information:
After reviewing your procedure, your teacher will discuss any safety precautions
that are specific to your experiment.
Materials:
The following materials will be available; however, you do not necessarily need to
use them or use only these items.
Balance
Magnet
Mesh Screen
Tweezers
Waxed Paper
Weigh boat
Funnel
Cup/ContainerPaper towels
Filter Paper
Other equipment is available on request
Procedure:
You will need to write a procedure to determine the percent composition of the
mixture. To help you begin to think about the procedure think about these
questions and answer them in your lab notebook:
1. List as many observations as you can about the mixture.
2. List five different physical properties that might be useful for separating the
components.
3. Devise a method to separate the mixture based on each of the properties you
listed in question 2.
4. Decide the order of the different methods that you will use in your
experiment.

5. What data will you collect during the course of this experiment?
Hint: One of the components is sand, which is not a pure substance, but a
heterogeneous mixture.
Plan on writing two drafts of your procedure. Show your first draft to your teacher
then finalize for the second draft.
Results:
Record numbers collected during your experiment here.
Calculations:
Calculations should be complete and organized in a separate section in your lab
notebook.
Interpretation:
The interpretation section should be in paragraph form and include a discussion of
your results and a discussion of possible sources of error. A discussion of your
results might review what the purpose was of this lab in addition to the scientific
principles in question and how your results relate to the purpose and principles.
You could compare what you found to others if it seems appropriate. You can use
the following questions to help guide your interpretation section and to think of
topics to address in the Interpretation, but you shouldnt record actual numbered
answers to these in your lab book.
Questions for further thought:
Do you think that each group in your class will obtain the same values for the
percent composition of the mixture? Why or why not?
If the purpose of the experiment was to determine the percent composition of
a homogeneous mixture, would each group obtain the same values for the
percent composition of the mixture? Why or why not?
Why do you think we are separating this mixture based physical properties
and not chemical properties?
If you were determining the percent composition of carbon, hydrogen and
oxygen in sucrose, would you need to use physical or chemical methods of
separation?
If you were asked to do this experiment again, what aspects went well and
what would you do differently?