Piper Beers 3.4.

13 Copper and Silver Nitrate Lab

Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to observe the chemical reaction between copper wire and silver nitrate and to record the stoichiometric relationship between the reactants and the products in this reaction. Materials: 100ml beaker 10ml of silver nitrate 5 copper wire Triple beam balance 50ml beaker Safety goggles

Procedure: 1. Measure 10ml of silver nitrate into the 100ml beaker. Mass both the silver nitrate and the beaker. Record. 2. Mass 5 copper wire to the nearest .01g. 3. Abrade copper wire. Coil the wire around a pencil and flatten out the coils. 4. Submerge copper wire in the silver nitrate solution. Do not disturb beaker while copper wire is submerged. Record observations of the copper in the solution over the course of 30 minutes. 5. Shake silver crystals off of the copper into the beaker. 6. After the silver settles in the beaker, decant the solution into a different beaker (50ml beaker). 7. Leave silver in beaker to dry overnight. 8. Once the copper wire is dry, weigh its mass and record. 9. Weigh the mass of the beaker containing silver crystals and record. Data: Mass of beaker Mass of silver nitrate solution Mass of coiled copper wire before 65.4g 10.6g .01g

Mass of copper wire after Mass of beaker and silver Mass of silver

.03g 65.5g .1g

Observations: Once the copper wire was properly coiled and submerged, the color of the silver nitrate solution began to turn from a clear/grayish color, to a grayish/blue color after about 2-3 minutes. This color became more vibrant throughout the experiment. Once crystals began to form on the copper, the crystals began falling off into the solution. When the crystals fell off, the surface of the copper was left black. The crystals that fell off into the solution were smaller than the crystals left on the copper. After the experiment was over, the mass of the copper wire weighed more than it did before the experiment began. The reason the copper wire weighed more after the experiment was because some of the silver crystals and silver nitrate solution were left on the wire when it was weighed. Data Analysis: In this experiment, writing a balanced equation for copper and silver nitrate is key to finding what type of reaction it creates. 2Cu + Ag(NO3) 2Cu(NO3) + Ag This reaction is a single replacement reaction because the copper replaces the silver and makes copper nitrate, leaving silver by itself. This is accurate because in the experiment, the copper clearly bonded with the silver nitrate solution and made pure silver crystals.

Molar Masses: Reactants: Cu: 65.4 x 2 = 130.8 Ag: 107.8 N: 14 O: 16 x 3 = 48 300.6

Products: Cu: 65.4 x 2 = 130.8 Ag: 107.8 N: 14 x 2 x 2 = 56 O: 16 x 3 x 2 x 2 = 192 486.6

Error Analysis: Some of the experimental errors our group encountered during this experiment were that we didnt abrade our copper wire before we coiled and submerged the wire in the silver nitrate solution. Our crystals didnt start forming until the coating on the copper wire was scraped off. After our copper wire was taken out of the solution and dried, its mass came to more than it was originally before it was submerged in the solution, which is incorrect. The reason the mass weighed more after the experiment is because some of the silver nitrate solution was still on the copper wire when it was measured. Conclusion: During this experiment, the copper wire in silver nitrate successfully created silver crystals like the purpose intended. The stoichiometric calculations accurately show the balanced equation for copper and silver nitrate as well as the molar masses of copper and silver nitrate.