Jonathan Khan October 16, 2010

Ms. Crowley Determination of the Percentage of Hydration on a Crystalline Salt

1. The reason for the experimental percentage being too high is that the weight of the H2O

lost was measured too high, or that the mass of the crystalline salt was too low. The

reason for the experimental percentage being too low is that the mass of the H2O lost was

measured to be too low, or that the mass of the crystalline salt was too high.

2. The meaning of “consistency of results” is that measured results do not vary too far from

one another, and that these results also do not vary too far from the accepted value for

whatever is being measured.

3. Some sources of error in this experiment are

a. Use of an uncelebrated electronic balance scale

b. Massing the crucible + salt + top apparatus while it was still too hot

c. Rounding of calculated measurements at any other time than at the end.

4. The change that takes place in this experiment is a physical change

5. Heating can do more to the salt than just dehydrating it. As my group visualized in the

dehydration of the magnesium sulfate, excessive heating causes thermal decomposition in

which the salt will begin to break down.

6. That law that is verified in this experiment is the law of definite ratios. This is

exemplified in the fact that there is a specific mass of water in each mole of hydrated salt.

And the ratio of amount of water per mole of salt will be constant no matter how much

hydrated salt is heated.

7. If this experiment was to be repeated, the precautions which could be implemented to

eliminate the factors which cause the experimental percent to be too high or too low

would be to not thermally decompose the salt, and to make sure that the reading on the

scale are taken more than once to ensure consistency.