Experimental Chemistry

1. Experimental design
 Instruments
o Time
 Stopwatch
 S.I. = second
o Temperature
 Mercury thermometer
 Temperature sensor + data logger
 S.I. = Kelvin
o Mass
 Electronic balance
 S.I. = kilogram
o Volume
 Measuring cylinder
 Gas syringes
 Pipettes
 Burettes
 S.I. = cubic meter
 Collecting gases
o Factors
 Solubility in water
 Density
o Methods
 Displacement of water
 Downward delivery
 Upward delivery
o Get dry gas
 Pass gas through concentrated sulfuric acid/ fused calcium chloride/
quicklime (calcium oxide)
2. Methods of purification and separation
 Purity
o Pure
 Has fixed melting and boiling points
o Impure
 Decreases melting point, increase boiling point
 Melts/ Boils over a range of temperatures
o Importance
 Important in medicine

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  Prevent undesirable side effects
 Important in food and beverage industry
 Prevent food posioning
 Solid – Solid
o Filtration
 Soluble solid from insoluble
 Add water then filter
 Evaporate till dryness/ crystalisation if needed
o Magnet
 Magnetic solid (iron, nickel and cobalt) from non-magnetic
 Use magnet to attract magnetic solid
o Sublimation
 Solid that can sublime(iodine and ammonium chloride) from that which
cannot
 Add heat to the mixture and condense the vapour formed
 Solid – Liquid
o Decanting
 Dense solid from liquid
 Pour liquid out by tilting container, while not letting solid out
 Does not work for suspensions
o Filtration
 Small solid from liquid
 Use filter paper and funnel
o Evaporation to dryness
 Solute from solvent
 Heat the solution until all the water has evaporated
 Does not work for solids that undergo thermal decomposition
o Crystalisation
 Saturate the solution by heating it.
 Allow it to cool and collect the crystals formed
 Wash the crystals then dry it
o Simple distillation
 Solvent from solute
 Boil the liquid and condense the vapour formed, using a condenser
 Liquid – Liquid
o Miscible
 Simple distillation
 Two or more miscible liquids with large difference in boiling
points (more than 20OC)
 Fractional distillation
 Two or more miscible liquids

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  The liquid with the lowest boiling point would distill over the
condenser first
 As the other liquids would condense at the fractionating column
and fall back into the solution
o Immiscible
 Separating funnel
 Two or more immiscible liquids
 Add the liquids in the separating funnel and allow them to
separate
 Drain out the densest liquid first, leaving some inside
 Change container and remove what’s left of the first liquid
 Continue with the other liquids, repeating steps 2-3
o Chromatography
 It is the use of solvents to separate a mixture into its components
 Rf value
 It is the ratio between the distance travelled by the substance
and the distance travelled by the solvent
 Each component has a fixed Rf value in a certain solvent
 Due to their solubility in the solvent, they travel at different
speeds
 Locating agents
 When colourless substance are separated, a locating agent is
used on the chromatogram at the end of chromatography
 It colours the components so that their Rf value can be
determined
3. Identification of ions and gases
 Cations

Cation Add sodium hydroxide Add aqueous ammonia

Aluminum White ppt that dissolves in excess White ppt that does not dissolve in
excess
Lead(II) White ppt that dissolves in excess White ppt that does not dissolve in
excess
Zinc White ppt that dissolves in excess White ppt that dissolves in excess
Copper(II) Light blue ppt that does not dissolve Light blue ppt that dissolves in
in excess excess to give a dark blue solution
Iron(II) Green ppt that does not dissolve in Green ppt that does not dissolve in
excess excess
Iron(III) Reddish-brown ppt that does not Reddish-brown ppt that does not
dissolve in excess dissolve in excess
Calcium White ppt that does not dissolve in No ppt
excess
Ammonium No ppt, ammonia gas produced on no reaction

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 heating

 Anion

Anion Test Observation

Carbonate Add dilute acid (dilute hydrochloric Effervescence of a colourless,
acid) odourless gas that turns limewater
chalky
Chloride Add acidified silver nitrate A white ppt is formed
Iodide Add acidified lead(II) nitrate A yellow ppt is formed
Nitrate Warm with sodium hydroxide and Gas given off that turns moist red
aluminum foil litmus paper blue
Sulphate Add acidified barium nitrate A white ppt is formed

 Gases

Gas Characteristics Test Observation

Hydrogen Colourless and Place a lighted splint Splint extinguished
odourless into a sample of the with a ‘pop’ sound
gas
Oxygen Colourless and Place a glowing The splint rekindles
odourless splint into a sample
of the gas
Carbon dioxide Colourless and Bubble through A white ppt is
odourless limewater produced
Chlorine Colourless and Pass gas through Litmus paper turn
irritating smell moist blue litmus from blue to red
paper then white
Sulfur dioxide Colourless and Pass through filter Filter paper turns
chocking smelling paper soaked in from orange to
potassium green
dichromate(VI)
Ammonia Colourless and Pass through blue Litmus paper turns
odourless litmus paper from red to blue

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