Bicol University

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

Legazpi City

MOLAR MASS OF BUTANE

Activity No.

Group 9- BS Chemistry 1-A Lab 2

Keneth Piñon

Babylyn Murillo

Tonnette Ashley Señora

Francis Lorica

November 21,2019
INTRODUCTION

In the laboratory, when a new substance is prepared its identity must be determined.
Knowing the molar mass of the substance limits the list of possible identities. To determine the
molar mass, you need the mass of the sample and the number of moles of substance present in
that particular mass. Knowing the pressure and volume of a gas at a specific temperature
provides enough information to determine the number of moles present. One method of
determining the volume of a gas sample at a known pressure is to collect it over water. If the
volume (V), temperature (T) and total pressure (P) of the collected gas are measured, the ideal
gas law can be used to determine the moles of gas in that sample.

Butane is a gas at normal room conditions, but it is a liquid in disposable lighters under
high-pressurized conditions. When the lighter is opened, the container is depressurized,
allowing the butane to escape as a gas. In this experiment you will collect a butane gas sample
in a container by the water displacement method, allowing direct measurement of the volume of
butane gas collected.

The very purpose of this activity was to introduce the students to the idea of the ideal
gas equation and by using

MATERIALS USED

The materials used in the experiments are as follows: platform balance, 100-mL
graduated cylinder, 500-mL graduated cylinder, 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask, Watch glass,
Container, thermometer, tissue paper and disposable cigarette lighter. Chemicals and reagents
used in the experiment; these are butane (which was inside the disposable cigarette lighter) and
water

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
First, soak the lighter in the container filled with water. Take it out of the water after a
minute and wipe it using a tissue paper. Determine the mass of the dry lighter which serves as
M1. Record. Fill the Erlenmeyer flask completely with water. After that, transfer the water which
is on the flask into a 500-mL graduated cylinder. This enables to determine the exact volume of
the water needed to fill the flask. The recorded volume serves as V1. Fill again the flask
completely with water and cover it by using a watch glass. Immerse the flask covered with the
watch glass completely into the container filled with water then turn the flask upside down. At
this point, the watch glass was removed. Get the weighed lighter and hold it under water, the
opening should always be placed beneath the mouth of the inverted flask. Press the release
lever of the lighter, it must be ensured that all the gas released by the lighter which is in the form
of bubbles enters the flask. Continue the pressing until the collected gas approximates to 200
mL. By this time, the used lighter must be wiped dry with a clean tissue paper and must be
weighed. This gives M2. Calculate the mass of the gas collected. Before removing the flask
which was submerged into the water, the level of the water inside and outside of the flask must
be the same. Carry the flask which was still covered with the watch glass into the fume hood.
Remove the cover of the flask. Using a 100-mL graduated cylinder, measure the volume of
water remained in the flask. This gives V2. Calculate the volume of the gas collected. The
temperature of the water must also be measured because this gives you the equivalent
barometric pressure and the vapor pressure which helps you to determine the pressure of the
gas. From the data collected for the properties of the gas, the molar mass of butane can now be
calculated. The percentage error can also be calculated.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The table below presents the different collected and calculated data from the properties
of the gas as well as the different handbook data together with the percentage error.

Table 1. Collected and calculated results of the experiment.

Initial mass of lighter, m1 1.63 g

Final Mass of Lighter, m2 15.7 g
Mass of Butane 0.6 g
Volume of Erlenmeyer Flask, V1 280 mL = 0.280 L
Volume of Water, V2 79 mL = 0.079 L
Volume of Gas 201 mL = 0.201 L
Temperature of Water 28˚C = 301. 15 K
Barometric pressure 798 mmHg = 1.05 atm
Vapor pressure of water 3.80455 kPa = 0.03759947148 atm
Pressure of butane 1.012450529 atm
Molar Mass of Butane 72.90 g/ mol
Percentage Error 25.43%

The mass of butane was computed by getting the difference of M1 and M2 which was
0.6 g. While the volume of the gas collected was from the difference of the volume of the
Erlenmeyer Flask (V1) and the volume of the water (V2). The temperature of the water which
was 28°C was converted into Kelvin (K). In the conversion of °C to K, 273.15 must be added to
the collected temperature. The temperature also corresponds to the different barometric and
vapos pressure of water. The difference between the barometric and vapor pressure enables
you to determine the pressure of the butane. In order for the molar mass of the butane be
calculated, the mass of the lighter over the number of moles the butane has was computed. For
the percentage error, the difference between the observed value and the accepted value over
the accepted value multiplied by 100. Answers to the questions Importance of equalizing the
level of water inside and outside the flask. When the water level inside and outside the flask are
equal, the pressure of the air and the collected gas are equal. Therefore, the measured air
pressure can be used for the pressure of the mixture of gases in the flask. The calculated molar
mass of the butane was 72.90 g/mol. The percentage error of the calculated molar mass was
25.43% Possible sources of error. If the lighter is not sufficiently dried, then the calculated mass
of butane will be artificially low. Therefore the numerator in the molar mass calculation will be
too low, resulting in a lower molar mass. If the temperature of the butane is higher than the
water temperature, the calculated moles of butane will be artificially high. Therefore, the
denominator in the molar mass calculation will be too high, resulting in a lower molar mass. If
some butane gas escaped without going into the cylinder, the volume of butane gas will be
artificially low. This will make the mole calculation too low. Therefore, the denominator in the
molar mass calculation will be too low, resulting in a higher molar mass. Value of R using the
data for volume, pressure, temperature and mass of butane and assuming a molar mass of
58.12 g/mol. R=0.08201 Conclusion Using the calculated data and the ideal gas equation, the
molecular mass of butane was 72.90 g/mol.

CONCLUSION
 The Chemical reaction in each experiment were observed. The reaction was predicted
due to the use of the chemical equation and also the type of reaction and its indication were
determined. In the experiment, compound have different types of reaction with different pairs.

REFERENCE

Muley, P. (n.d.). Chemical Reactions. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Inorganic_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Inorgani
c_Chemistry)/Chemical_Reactions/Chemical_Reactions.

Chemical Reactions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2019, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_reaction.

Litmus. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litmus.

Ophardt, C. O., Elmhurst College, & Virtual Chembook. (n.d.). Burning Magnesium. Retrieved
November 27, 2019, from
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Ancillary_Materials/Demos,_Techniques,_and_Experim
ents/Lecture_Demonstrations/Burning_Magnesium.

DOCUMENTATIONS:
APPENDIX: