Difference Between the Boiling Point of

Tap and Saltwater

Introduction

Boiling is the phase transition in which a material goes from liquid to gas. A boiling point is the

temperature is high enough to overcome the atmospheric pressure above it. This conversion happens

at a set temperature every time. This temperature is known as the boiling point; when a liquid reaches

its boiling point, its temperature remains constant and its energy increases. For example, water’s

boiling point is 100℃. When water is heated to 100℃, the pressure of the water vapor equals that of

the atmosphere around it. When more heat is added, vaporization occurs and water turns to gas

without exceeding 100℃.

Research Objective

The purpose of this lab is to measure and compare the boiling points of tap water and salt wate. We

will answer the question: “How are the boiling points of tap water and salt water different?”. I

hypothesize that if I add salt to water, then the boiling point will not change.

Variables

Independent variable: the addition of salt to the water.

Dependent variable: the boiling point and the time it takes to reach that temperature.

Control group: tap water.

Control Factors

Type of Control Method of Control

Same salt Morton Ionized Salt will be used

Same water Tap water will be used

Same temperature Hot plate will be set to the maximum temperature

Amount of water 50.0 mL of water will be used

Materials

1. Graduated cylinder (+ or - 0.5 mL)

2. Thermometer (+ or - 0.1℃)

3. Beaker

4. Hotplate

5. Scoopula

6. Salt

7. Stirring rod

8. Stopwatch

9. Water

10. Beaker tongs

11. pipet

Procedure

1. Fill the beaker with 50.0 mL of water.

 2. Place the beaker on the hot plate with the hot plate turned off.

3. Take one (1) temperature measurement of the room temperature tap water.

4. Do not let the thermometer touch the glass of the beaker.

5. Turn the hot plate to the max setting.

6. Collect temperature measurements immediately every 30 seconds until the temperature stays

constant for 2 minutes. Record and qualitative data observed.

7. Do not let the beaker go dry. Stop the experiment, turn off the hot plate if the beaker is close

to going dry.

8. Turn off the hot plate andpour the water down the sink. Allow the beaker and hot plate to cool

down before the next test (the hot plate does not need to cool completely).

9. Fill the beaker with 50.0 mL of water.

10. Add one (1) scoop of salt and stir.

11. Repeat steps 2-8 with the new solution.

12. Fill the beaker with 50.0 mL of water.

13. Add two (2) scoops of salt and stir.

14. Repeat steps 2-8 with the new solution.

Data Collection

Changes in the solution observed include:

The water bubbled around 90℃.

The salt solutions looked murky and a translucent white.

None of the trials resulted in steam.

Boiling Points of Different Water Solutions

 Temperature (℃)

Time (sec) Tap Water 1 Scoop of Salt 2 Scoops of Salt

0 22.1 22.4 23.3

30 21.9 25.2 23.3

60 23.3 28.5 25.9

90 25.1 32.2 30.5

120 27.2 35.9 35.0

150 29.3 41.0 32.2

180 34.3 42.3 38.8

210 37.8 49.9 41.5

240 42.2 61.1 53.4

270 48.4 56.1 61.1

300 52.2 65.6 58.9

330 56.2 76.2 59.4

360 60.5 78.3 60.8

390 68.1 87.5 74.8

420 72.0 92.0 83.2

450 77.3 92.4 82.3

480 80.3 93.3 89.1

 510 86.9 92.5 93.3

540 92.2 92.2

570 92.8 92.9

600 92.9 90.6

630 91.3

Data Processing and Presentation

Average Boiling Point = (Temp1 + Temp2 + Temp3 + Temp4)/4

Temp1, Temp2, Temp3, and Temp4 represent the final 4 constant temperatures.

The Average Boiling Point of Tap Water is 92.2℃

The Average Boiling Point of Tap Water with 1 Scoop of Salt is 92.6℃

The Average Boiling Point of Tap Water with 2 Scoops of Salt is 92.3℃
 Solution Type Average Boiling Point (℃)

Tap Water 92.2

1 Scoop of Salt 92.6

2 Scoops of Salt 92.3

Conclusion

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the affect of salt on the boiling point of a water

solution. The data shows that the average of the last four constant temperatures (average boiling point)

does not change with the addition of salt. What is inconclusive is the affect on time. The data is

inconsistent regarding a change in amount of time to boil. After examining and analysing the data, I

confirm my hypothesis. Therefore, I conclude that water does not change the boiling point of water.
Evaluation

Some weaknesses of this experiment include, the hot plate did not cool down between trials and that

each salt scoop could have been measured. Beginning the experiment, the hot plate was turned on and

the beaker was immediately set on the hot plate. This means that the first trial is likely innacurrate

because the hot plate did not start at the same temperature as the other trials. This could have been

fixed by adding a 10 minute waiting period in between trials to the let the hot plate cool down or a 10

minute period before the experiment to let the hot plate heat up. Another weakness is that the salt was

not measured. In each trial, one scoop of salt with the scoopula was added to the solution. This was

not at all measured and could have been vastly different amounts of salt. We could have measured out

exactly a couple grams of salt to ensure a consistent change in boiling point.

Some ways to expand this experiment include, addition of more trials, use of different types of salt,

and use of different water solutions. Even just doing two trials per solution could vastly improve the

preciseness of these results. Imagine if this experiment was 3 trials, 5 trials, 10, maybe even more.

Another way is using different salts to examine if the lack of change was due to the salt choice.

Perhaps the addition of a sea salt trial or pink salt trial. The last improvement that will be mentioned

here is using different solutions. The only solution used was salt water, a more precise and broader

conclusion could have been drawn with the use of sugar water.

Citations

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "boiling point". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2022,

https://www.britannica.com/science/boiling-point. Accessed 5 January 2023.