Usama Asad

Arthur, Sherilyn
Matthew
CH111-L1 Monday 2:30-5:30pm

150629890
18/01/2016

Chemistry Lab Experiment 2:

Determining Molecular Weight of
Substance using Freezing-Point
Depression
Abstract
This experiment was performed to determine the molecular
weight of an unknown substance using the Freezing-Point
Depression method. Freezing-Point Depression is used to lower the
freezing point of different substances, by adding a solute/solvent, in
order so that freezing is delayed. In this case, cyclohexane was used
as the solvent. Firstly, an empty vial with a stopper was weighed
and the mass was recorded. Next, 10mL of cyclohexane was
obtained and placed into the vial and reweighed, and the mass was
recorded. Using these masses, the mass of cyclohexane was
obtained. Afterwards, an ice bath containing cold tap water, ice and
NaCl was created, and placed on a magnetic stirrer. A calibrated
MeasureNet thermometer and a magnetic pill were placed in the
cyclohexane, and the vial was then placed into the ice bath. The
temperature was recorded for 600 seconds, and a graph of
Temperature vs. Time was obtained. The cyclohexane vial was then
placed into a warm bath and allowed to reach room temperature.
This trial was repeated once more. Next, 0.1mL of the unknown
solution was placed into the cyclohexane in the vial and the freezing
process was repeated for a total of 2 trials, and graphs were
obtained. An empty vial w/stopper was weighed, then 5mL of the
unknown was placed into the vial using a micropipette and
reweighed. The masses were subtracted to obtain the mass of
unknown, and then divided by the volume of unknown to determine
the density. A similar procedure to determine density was used, but
instead of a vial a gravity bottle was used, and instead of 5mL,

25mL was obtained. The freezing point of pure cyclohexane was

determined to be 7.9C, while the freezing point of cyclohexane with
the unknown solution was determined to be 5.25C. The freezing
point depression was determined to be 2.74C. The density of the
unknown was 0.7793g/mL. The molar mass of the unknown was
determined to be 72.93g/mol, and the unknown solution was
determined to be Acetone, which had a molar mass of 58.2g/mol.
The percent error was between the molecular weights was 20.34%.
A trend that was discovered were the similar shapes of the graphs
for all four trials. Each function contained a dip in temperature
before reaching a plateau, signifying super cooling. In conclusion,
determining the molar mass of an unknown using freezing-point
depression, and calculating the density of an unknown using the
gravity bottle method, was successful.

Procedure
For the procedure, see lab manual (CH111 Lab Manual, Winter 2016) pages
35-38.
Wilfrid Laurier University Chemistry Department. Winter 2016. Experiment
2. Determination of Molecular Weight Using Freezing Point Depression. Pages
35-38 in Chemistry 111 Lab Manual. Wilfrid Laurier University, ON, Canada.
*The procedure for determining the density of the unknown is attached.

Results
Mass of the empty vial
w/stopper (g)
Mass of vial w/stopper and
10mL of Cyclohexane (g)

45.49

Mass of Cyclohexane (g)

7.59

53.08

Table 1; Measurements and Recordings

Empty Vial
w/stopper
(g)

45.60

45.57

45.59

Vial
w/stopper
and
Unknown (g)
Volume of
Unknown
used (mL)
Mass of
Unknown (g)
Density of
Unknown
(g/mL)

45.67

49.39

49.30

0.1

0.06

3.82

3.71

0.6

0.764

0.742

Table 2; Density determination using own Procedure

Mass of Gravity
Bottle (g)

29.17

29.34

Mass of Gravity
Bottle w/Unknown
(g)
Volume of
Unknown (mL)

49.39

49.67

25.00

25.00

Mass of Unknown
(g)
Density of
Unknown (g/mL)

20.22

20.33

0.8088

0.8132

Table 3; Density Determination using Gravity Bottle

Cyclohexane
Unknown

Clear,colorless, sharp, strong

odor.
Clear, colorless, sharp, light
odor.

Cyclohexane w/unknown

Clear, colorless, mixture of

strong odors.

Table 4; Qualitative Observations

*Questions/Calculations attached separately.

Pure Cyclohexane Freezing point trial one

30
25
20

Temperature C)

15
10
5
0
0

100

200

300

Time (s)

Chart 1; Pure Cyclohexane Time vs. Temp. Trial One

400

500

600

Pure Cyclohexane freezing point trial two

25

20

15

Temperature (C)
10

100

200

300

400

500

600

time (s)

Chart 2; Pure Cyclohexane Time vs. Temp. Trial Two

Cyclohexane w/unknown Freezing Point trial one

30
25
20

Temperature (C)

15
10
5
0

100

200

300

400

Time (s)

Chart 3; Cyclohexane w/Unknown Time vs. Temp. Trial One

500

600

CYCLOHEXANe W/UNKNOWN Freezing point trial tw

25

20

15

TEMPERATURE (C)
10

100

200

300

400

500

TIME (S)

Chart 4; Cyclohexane w/Unknown Time vs. Temp. Trial Two

Discussion

The molar mass of the unknown solution was determined to be

72.93g/mol (Calculation/Question #3). The solution was determined
to be acetone (Question #4) which has a molar mass of 58.2g/mol.
The percent error between the two masses was 20.34%
(Question#5). The average density using the gravity bottle and the
self-created procedure was 0.7793g/mL (Table #2,3). The amount of
unknown used was 25mL, and the room temperature was 23C.
The freezing point of pure cyclohexane was 7.9C (Graphs #1,2),
while the average freezing point of cyclohexane with 0.1mL of
acetone was 5.25C (Graphs #3,4). The freezing-point depression
was determined to be 2.74C (Question #1). The mass of
cyclohexane was determined to be 7.59g (Table #1). There was a
significant percent error between the molar mass of acetone, and
the molar mass that was determined experimentally. This is because
while calculating the density, 5mL of acetone were not exactly used,
since acetone is a volatile substance and evaporates continuously.
Another human error could have been impure lab equipment, in that
the pure cyclohexane could have been mixed or reacted with
unwanted substances inside the vial. Also, the MeasureNet

600

thermometer probe might not have been calibrated to exactly +0.1C. This could potentially effect the accuracy of the freezing
points on the graph, in that the freezing point would be off by a
significant amount. An experimental source of error could have been
that the cyclohexane was not exactly pure. This would have effected
the freezing-point depression constant. Another source of
experimental error was that the room temperature was not exactly
20C. This would have effected the volume of unknown solution the
gravity bottle held, hence effecting the density of the unknown. A
way of improving this lab would be to conduct more trials (3-4) to
determine a more accurate freezing point. Also, using the more
precise mass balances in the weighing room would give a more
accurate mass of the substances used, and therefore giving a better
density.

Conclusion
The molecular weight of the unknown was determined to be
72.93g/mol (Question #3), and the unknown substance was
determined to be acetone (Question #4), with a percent error of
20.34% between the molar masses (Question #5). The density of the
unknown solution was recorded to be 0.7793g/mL (Question #2),
and the freezing-point depression was calculated to be 2.74C
(Question #1). Therefore, in conclusion, determining the molecular
weight of an unknown substance using freezing-point depression,
and calculating its density using the gravity bottle method proved
to be successful, while also accurately determining the freezing
point depression between pure cyclohexane, and cyclohexane and
an unknown solution.