For instructional purposes only • 1st Semester SY 2021-2022

Experiment No. 1: Sublimation

Introduction
When you have a collection of clothes and store it with mothballs, you’ll observe that
mothballs disappear overtime. You might ask, why mothballs disappear overtime? It is because
of the process called sublimation. During sublimation, a solid on heating converts directly into
vapor without passing through the intermediate liquid state.
Not all substances sublimate. Mothballs are made up of naphthalene, which has very
weak intermolecular forces. Because of these weak forces, the mothball which is made up of
naphthalene sublimate. It changes its state from solid to vapor/gas. Now, this vapor is either
absorbed by the fabric or escapes into the atmosphere causing the mothballs to disappear over
time and smell the scent of the mothball in your cabinet. Let's see how it works!

Learning Outcomes
1. Show how sublimation works.
2. Explain the process of sublimation.
3. Understand how temperature differences affects the acceleration of the reaction.
4. Understand how Conservation of Mass was applied in sublimation process.

Materials
• Mothballs/Naphthalene balls
• Beaker
• Alcohol lamp / Bunsen Burner
• Watch glass/funnel
• Mortar and Pestle
• Tripod
• Gauze

Page 1 of 3
Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation. TP-IMD-02
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge V0 07-15-2020
and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment. No. VT-CTEAS-
DAS-Chem11-20-
001
For instructional purposes only • 1st Semester SY 2021-2022

Procedure

1. Organize all the equipment, keep it clean and far from foreign substances.
2. Get for about 2 pieces of mothball, crash it using the mortar and pestle.
3. Set up your alcohol lamp/bunsen burner and tripod with gauze over it.
4. Put the crushed mothballs inside the beaker and place it on the tripod.
5. Cover it using watch glass.
6. Carefully watch the mothball's residue as it all vaporizes. Keep your face, especially your
nose, far from the beaker to avoid sniffing the naphthalene vapor.
7. Extinguished the fire and observed how the vapor turns into crystals in a watch glass.

Figure 1 Sublimation Set-up

Image source: Sagar Shukla

Guide Questions
Instruction: Use the report sheet below in answering the questions. Write it in a short bond
paper or encode it using Microsoft Word Office. Send you laboratory report via gmail provided
by your instructor.
1. Base on the experiment, explain the process of sublimation.
2. What if you don’t crash the mothballs, will the mothball sublime as well? What do you
think is the reason behind crashing the mothballs? Explain.
3. How temperature differences affect the acceleration of the sublimation process?
4. Does the amount of crashed mothballs before the reaction (before it sublimates) is
same after the reaction (after it sublimates)? What Law explains your answer? Testify it.
5. Except for the mothballs, cite 2 example of compound that also follows the process of
sublimation.

Page 2 of 3
Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation. TP-IMD-02
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge V0 07-15-2020
and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment. No. VT-CTEAS-
DAS-Chem11-20-
001
For instructional purposes only • 1st Semester SY 2021-2022

References

• Silberberg (2009) Chemistry: The molecular Nature of matter and Change, Fifth Edition
• https://www.thoughtco.com/sublimation-2699011

Page 3 of 3
Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation. TP-IMD-02
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge V0 07-15-2020
and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment. No. VT-CTEAS-
DAS-Chem11-20-
001