CM011L: CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERS (LABORATORY)

1ST Quarter SY 2018-2019

Molar Mass of a Volatile Liquid (Experiment Number)

Manguiam, Von Louie R.1, Surname, Given Name, MI2

1
Professor, School of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering and Sciences, Mapúa University; 2Student, CM011L/Section, Mapúa University

ABSTRACT
There are different methods in determine the molar mass of a substance according to the properties of the compound that is analysed. In
the experiment to determine the molar mass of a volatile liquid, the equation of the Ideal Gas Law and Van der Waals are involved. To
complete these calculations, the physical properties of the vapours was measure and calibrated. Considering both gaseous behaviours,
the molar mass was obtained. In Ideal Gas behaviour a larger molar mass was attained than the Real Gas behaviour acquired from van
der Waals’ equation. The latter considers both the molecular volume and intermolecular forces of the gas whereas, the former does not.
The method of iteration was used to compute for the moles of vapour using van der Waals’ equation, to ensure accuracy. The calculated
molar masses from both equations were relatively too high compared to the actual molar mass of isopropyl. This can be caused by
miscalibration and incorrect measurement errors.

Keywords: Ideal Gas Law, volatile liquid, Molar mass determination, van der Waals’ equation

INTRODUCTION

Every day, new compounds are being synthesize for
research and industrial purposes by chemists. After
obtaining the compound, the chemist will identify the
compound through its physical and chemical properties.
One of the most fundamental properties in obtaining the
identity of a substance is through its molar mass. Molar
mass is defined as one mole of a substance and it is stated
in the units of g/mol. Molar mass provide a way to isolate a
desired number of atoms of an element or compound using
its mass (DeMeo, 2006).
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2003),
volatile is an adjective which means “readily becoming a
vapour at relatively low temperature”; therefore, volatile
liquids will quickly escape to the atmosphere when an
amount of heat is applied. Although not all volatile liquid is
dangerous, some like Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
provides a threat. Many of these VOCs are a threat to
human health and the environment due to their toxic and
carcinogenic properties (Wibowo et al., 2007). That is why it
is important to identify the compound in order to determine
the threat it provides.
However, a machinery is needed in order to perform this
method (Rasool Hassan, 2012). In obtaining the molar
mass of volatile liquid a method was created by Jean-
Baptiste Dumas, a French Chemist. He provided an
equation to be used in obtaining the number of moles of a
gas that was derived from the ideal gas law.
PV
nvapor= RT
(1)
mvapour
Mcompound=
nvapour
(2)
The Dumas method utilize pressure, volume, temperature,
and mass of the substance in its gaseous phase to obtain
the molar mass of the compound.
The objective of this laboratory activity is to find the molar
mass of the unknown substance and identify it.

There are many ways in obtaining the molar mass of

a substance. One method is through the use of Osmotic MATERIALS AND METHODS
pressure, this method is used in determining the molecular
weight of proteins and synthetic polymers of large particle The apparatuses used for this experiment were: 125-mL
Erlenmeyer Flask, 500-mL beaker, boiling chips, an iron

Experiment 01│ Group No.│ Date of Experiment 1 of 3

 CM011L: CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERS (LABORATORY)
1ST Quarter SY 2018-2019
stand, iron ring, iron clamp, Bunsen burner, wire gauze,
matches, rubber band and aluminum foil. A 5 mL volatile
liquid was also prepared for this experiment.
Figure 1. Apparatus
1 • Preparation
2 • Boiling
3 • Measuring
4 • Calculation
Figure 2. Flow of Activity
Before starting, the group first made sure that the
Erlenmeyer flask was completely dry. The flask was then
covered with aluminum foil and is secured with a rubber
band. The mass of the flask with the foil and rubber band is
measured. The beaker then half-filled with water and is
placed on top of the iron ring with the wire gauze as seen in
Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the flask that was
submerged to the water bath without touching the sides and
bottom of the beaker.
Experiment 01│ Group No.│ Date of Experiment
Figure 3. Submerged flask to the water bath
The Bunsen burner was opened to boil the water. Once the
water was boiling, we let it boil for 5 minutes more before
stopping the Bunsen burner and recording the temperature.
The volume of the flask was determined by filling the flask
up to its brim. The water was transferred 50 mL at a time
using a 50 mL graduated cylinder. The atmospheric
pressure was measured using the barometer. The mass of
the flask with the aluminum foil, rubber band and vapor was
then measure after the cool down. The molar mass of the
vapor was calculated using the mass of the vapor over the
number of moles of the vapor. The number of moles of the
vapor was determined using the Ideal Gas Law.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
What did you find? In the results, you present your
observations and data with no interpretations or
conclusions about what they mean. A well-written and well-
organized results section will provide the framework for the
discussion section. Record all your results, using complete
sentences, usually in the order the observations were
made. Tables and graphs should be used to supplement
the text and to present the data in a more understandable
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 CM011L: CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERS (LABORATORY)
1ST Quarter SY 2018-2019
form (see Tables and Figures) Raw data will probably be
most effective in table format, with the highlights
summarized in graph form. The written text of the results
section may be as short as one sentence summarizing the
highlights and directing the reader to specific tables and
figures. Include results that went "wrong" or were
unexpected. This may be useful information for someone
trying to repeat the experiment. Use both words and
numbers to describe your results, and use proper
terminology. Use past tense to describe your results..
Sample or detailed calculations for a lab report in a course
may be included in a separate section titled "Calculations"
or in an Appendix at the end of the report. Check with your
course instructors for specific requirements.
What does it mean? How does it relate to previous work in
the field? Explain what you think your data mean. Describe
patterns and relationships that emerged. Discuss why you
observed what you did, how it happened (or the most likely
reason), and how it relates to the purpose of the
experiment. Compare these results to trends described in
the literature and to theoretical behaviour. Support your
interpretations with references to course material, the lab
manual, and comments from the instructor during the lab.
You may also be asked to use other resources (peer
reviewed journal articles) for a more in-depth discussion; if
you do, remember to reference properly (see References in
this handout). Continue to be descriptive; the readers may
not read each result and jump to the discussion to find out
why it happened, so provide them with enough information
to understand the discussion. Remind the reader of your
own results, when relevant, without repeating endless
details from Results. e.g., The temperature increased
during the second phase because of the drug treatment.
(Discussion statement) NOT: The temperature increased
during the second phase. (repetition of Results statement).
If your result section was well organized, you can follow it
as a guide while you are writing the discussion. You can
refer to the same tables and figures to explain the
changes/trends/unexpected results. Accept or reject your
hypothesis and explain why. It is acceptable to reject your
hypothesis as long as you can prove it to be untrue and
explain why the results did not turn out as you predicated.
You can't argue the results, but if something went wrong or
was damaged, disturbed, or contaminated; if there were
changes to the experimental procedure; or if equipment
was faulty, you need to include this information and explain
how it may have affected the results. If your lab manual
includes questions to be answered in the Discussion,
integrate your responses into a logical discussion, rather
than answering them one by one. And don't include only the
Experiment 01│ Group No.│ Date of Experiment
answers to the questions - use them as a guideline for
supplementing your discussion, not limiting it. Your final
paragraph is the conclusion. Include a brief restatement of
the purpose and the main results and how they are relevant
to the field of study. Also include any future direction for
your results or changes you would make the next time to
produce results that are more significant or noteworthy.
This section will be written in the past tense when you are
describing your experiment, and present tense when
comparing to current theory.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The researcher was able to obtain the molar mass of the
unknown liquid and was able to identify it as Isopropyl
Alcohol. Because the main objective of the experiment was
obtained, the researchers concluded that the experiment is
successful and the Dumas method is an effective way of
measuring the molar mass of an unknown substance. After
finishing the experiment, the researchers observed some
rooms for improvement.
Firstly, we encourage extreme cautiousness in the
calculation part to avoid vital errors that will ruin the result of
the experiment. Secondly, we encourage future researchers
to avoid unnecessary loss during the measuring of the
volume of the 125 ml flask. Finally, we encourage future
researchers to enjoy doing the experiment and be on their
best state of mind in order to have an excellent output.
REFERENCES
DeMeo, S. (2006) ‘Revisiting molar mass, atomic mass,and
mass number: Organizing, integrating, and sequencing
fundamental chemical concepts’, Journal of Chemical
Education, 83(4), p. 617. . (Smith 1999).
MacDonald, G. M., Steenhuis, J. J., and Barry, B. A. (1995)
J. Biol. Chem. 270,    8420-8428
Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F., and Maniatis, T. (1989)
Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold
Spring HarborLaboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
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