John Yokoyama

1
September 14, 2022

Chem 201, Experiment 2

Analysis of a Phosphate Ion

Procedure

See the Pre-Lab for an outline of the general procedure. The experiment followed that
procedure without any variation.

Experimental Data:

Wavelength used for analysis: 385 nm

Absorption of standard solution with ammonium vanadomolybdate: 0.866 A

Absorbance of the ammonium vanadomolybdate solution: 0.083 A

Fertilizer with Root beer with

ammonium vanadomolybdate Ammonium vanadomolybdate

1 0.454 A 0.227 A

2 0.421 A 0.206 A

3 0.447 A 0.196 A

Calculated Results:

Fertilizer

Measured Original %P2O5 Average Standard

Phosphate Concentration Deviation
Concentration

1.25x10-4 M 3.75x10-3 M 13.31% 13.34% 0.30%

1.22x10-4 M 3.66x10-3 M 12.99%

1.29x10-4 M 3.87x10-3 M 13.73%

John Yokoyama
2
September 14, 2022
Root Beer

Measured Original mg PO43- Average Standard

Phosphate Concentration Deviation
Concentration

6.55x10-5 M 1.97x10-3 M 66.3 mg 61.3 mg 3.74 mg

5.95x10-5 M 1.79x10-3 M 60.3 mg

5.66x10-5 M 1.70x10-3 M 57.3 mg

Sample Calculations:

Calculation of el:

A = (el ) ⋅ C
A
el =
C
0.866A
el = = 3464M−1
2.5x10 M
−4

Concentration of Diluted Fertilizer Sample:

0.454A = (3464M −1)(C )

C = 1 . 25x10−4 M
Concentration of Undiluted Fertilizer:

C(1m L) = (1.25x10−4 M )(30m L)

C = 3 . 75x10−3 M
Concentration of Diluted Root Beer:

0.227A = (3464M −1)(C )

C = 6 . 55x10−5
Concentration of Undiluted Root Beer:

C1(1m L) = (6.55x10−5)(30m L)
C1 = 1 . 97x10−3 M
 John Yokoyama
3
September 14, 2022

mg PO43- Per Bottle of Root Beer (355mL):

(1.97x10−3M )(0.355L) = moles of Phosphate

−4
94.97gPO43−
6.99x10 M ⋅ = grams of Phosphate per Root Beer Bottle

1MolPO43−

−2
1000mgPO43−
6.63x10 gPO43− ⋅ = 66 . 3mgPO3−
4

1gPO4
3−

%P2O5:

g 1m olP2O5 g
(3.75x10−3 M ) ⋅ (141.940 P2O5) ⋅ ( = 0.266 of P2O5

m ol 2m olPO43− L
g
0.2661 L P2O5
% P2O5 = 100 ⋅ ( g )

2 L Fer t ilizer

% P2O5 = 13 . 31 %

Discussion
In this experiment, I analyzed the phosphate ion in fertilizer solution and root beer. The quality
of my results was reasonably high, as my calculated percentage for the P2O5 was only about
2% o the given (13% and 15%).

One source of error that may have occurred was due to our spectrophotometer reading
“sample too dark.” This caused us to skip the rst wavelength and begin our initial readings 5
nm higher than instructed. Also, for the rst samples of both the fertilizer and root beer, we
used a graduated cylinder rather than a pipet to deliver 30 mL of liquid. This is obviously less
exact and led to slight variations in our collected data.

Our standard deviation was very good for both sets of data, showing that our measurements
were consistent and correct.
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