CENTRE OF FOUNDATION STUDIES FOR AGRICULTURAL

SCIENCE UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

CHEMISTRY LAB REPORT CHEMISTRY

LECTURE’S GROUP
KULIAH 4

TITLE OF EXPERIMENT
STOICHIOMETRIC CALCULATION FOR DETERMINATION OF
LIMITING REAGENT

LECTURE’S NAME
Dr Nur Hana binti Faujan

GROUP NUMBER
5

FULL NAME MATRIC TASK

NUMBER
MUHAMMAD IZZUDDIN BIN NORISAM AS12872 • PROCEDURE
• COVER PAGE

NUR DANIA MAISARAH BINTI MOHD AS12860 • OBJECTIVE

HUSAINI • PROCEDURE

VINISHA A/P MANIMARAN AS12895 • EXPERIMENTAL

ERROR/PRECAUTION
STEPS
ALYA IRDINA BINTI ZAILY AS12896 • RESULT
• CALCULATIONS

NUR SUFIAH BINTI SAIFULAZZA AS12899 • DISCUSSION

• CONCLUSION
OBJECTIVE

(a) To determine the limiting reagent from the experiment

(b) To determine the percentage yield from the experiment

INTRODUCTION
This experiment is designed to illustrate the relationship between quantities of reactants and
the amount of product produced by a chemical reaction. A chemical reaction can be
presented by using a chemical equation. A chemical equation shows the reactants (left side)
and products (right side) in a chemical reaction. A balanced equation shows, in terms of
moles, how much of each substance is involved in the reaction.
For this experiment, the chemical reaction is:
Pb(NO3)2(aq) + K2CrO4(aq) PbCrO4(s) + 2KNO3(aq)
In this experiment, the limiting reagent in a chemical reaction will be determined by mixing
different amounts of 0.025 M aqueous solutions of colourless lead(II) nitrate, Pb(NO3)2 and
0.025M yellow potassium chromate, K2CrO4. When two or more chemical species react to
form product(s), the amount of each product formed depends on the stoichiometry of the
reaction and the relative amount of reactant present. Stoichiometry is the study of the
relationships of quantities of substances in a chemical reaction.
The principles of stoichiometry and limiting reagents will be used to predict the amount of
product that should be produced when mixing two solutions to produce an insoluble product.
The limiting reagent will be identified qualitatively by observing the colour of the solution after
mixing, and will be confirmed quantitatively by determining the amount of yellow lead(II)
chromate formed.

Apparatus
250 mL beaker, 50 mL graduated measuring cylinder, 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask, filter funnel,
filter paper, watch glass, rubber policeman and hot plate.

Chemicals
0.025 M lead(II) nitrate, Pb(NO3)2, 0.025 M potassium chromate, K2CrO4 and acetone

Procedure
1. Clean two beakers of 250 mL and label the beaker as “A” and “B”, respectively.
2. Measure the required volumes of the two solutions using a measuring cylinder, as
follows:

Reactants Beaker A Beaker B

K2CrO4 30.0 mL 40.0 mL

 Pb(NO3)2 40.0 mL 30.0 mL

3. Mix the reactants with the stirring rod.

4. Place the beakers on a hot plate. Heat the solutions to allow slow boiling and
continue stirring for 10 minutes.
5. Cool the sample in an ice bath to allow precipitate to settle.
6. Clean two watch glasses and label them “A” and “B” respectively. Then, place fluted
filter paper (Figure 1) on each watch glass and weigh both the watch glasses
together with the fluted filter papers. Record its weight in Table 1.

Figure 1

7. Transferred the precipitate using a rubber policeman and filter the precipitate using
the fluted filter paper (Figure 2).

Figure 2
8. Transfer 20 drops of supernatant liquid from beaker “A” into 2 different test tubes and
labelled as test tube 1 and 2. Into test tube 1, add 12 drops of 0.025 M lead(II) nitrate
and for test tube 2, add 12 drops of 0.025 M potassium chromate as follow;

Test Tube 1 Test Tube 2

Supernatant liquid of beaker A 20 drops 20 drops

Pb(NO3)2 12 drops -

K2CrO4 - 12 drops

9. Record your observations in Table 2.

10. Repeat the process for beaker “B” and record your observations in Table 2.
11. Wash the precipitates from beakers A and B with distilled water, followed by 10 Ml of
acetone.
12. Carefully remove the filter paper containing the precipitate and spread it on a watch
glass. Then, place the filter paper on a hot plate until dry.
13. Weigh the filter paper together with the precipitate and record in Table 3.
 14. Reheat the sample and reweigh until weight is consistent (error in reading is only ±
0.01 g).

RESULTS – EXPERIMENT 2

Table 1: Mass of PbCrO4

SET A SET B

Volume of 0.025 M K2CrO4 (mL) 30.0 40.0

Volume of 0.025 M Pb (NO3)2 (mL) 40.0 30.0

Watch glass + filter paper (g) 36.11 31.82

Watch glass + filter paper + dry 36.29 32.02

precipitate after 1st heating (g)

Watch glass + filter paper + dry 36.29 32.02

precipitate after 2nd heating (g)

Watch glass + filter paper + dry 36.29 32.02

precipitate after 3rd heating (g)

Mass of PbCrO4 (g) 0.18 0.20

Table 2: Observation

SET A SET B

The colour of supernatant colourless yellow

liquid

Supernatant + 0.025 M colourless Cloudy yellow +

Pb(NO3)2 precipitate

Supernatant + 0.025 M K2CrO4 Cloudy yellow + yellow

precipitate

Limiting reactant K2CrO4 Pb(NO3)2

 Table 3: Yield of PbCrO4

SET A SET B

Volume of 0.025 M K2CrO4 (mL) 30.0 40.0

Volume of 0.025 M Pb(NO3)2 40.0 30.0

(mL)
Mole of K2CrO4 0.00075 0.001

Mole of Pb(NO3)2 0.001 0.00075

Mole of PbCrO4 0.00075 0.00075

Theoretical yield of PbCrO4 (g) 0.24 0.24

Experimental yield of PbCrO4 0.18 0.20

(g)
Percentage yield (%) 75.0% 83.3%

CALCULATION

1. Calculate the number of moles of K2CrO4, Pb(NO3)2 and PbCrO4

2. Calculate the theoretical yield of PbCrO4.

3. Calculate the percentage yield of PbCrO4.

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this experiment is to determine the limiting reagent and to determine the
percentage yield from the experiment. In this experiment, different volumes of 0.025M
lead(II) nitrate and 0.025M potassium chromate were used. For beaker A 40ml of lead(II)
nitrate and 30ml of potassium chromate were used and for beaker B 30ml of lead(II) nitrate
and 40ml of potassium chromate were used. This experiment was done by watching a video
of the experiment being carried out.

In beaker A, the limiting reactant which was determined by using stoichiometric

calculation is potassium chromate with the number of mol of 0.00075 mol. Thus the mole
calculated for the product lead(II) chromate is also 0.00075 mol. The theoretical yield
calculated was 0.24g while the experimental yield which was weighed from precipitate
obtained was 0.18g. The percentage yield calculated was 75%.

In beaker B, the limiting reactant which was determined by using stoichiometric

calculation is lead(II) nitrate with the number of mol of 0.00075 mol. Thus the mole
calculated for the product lead(II) chromate is also 0.00075 mol. The theoretical yield
calculated was 0.24g while the experimental yield which was weighed from precipitate
obtained was 0.20g. The percentage yield calculated was 83.3%. The experimental yield
obtained varies because of the different values of molar mass for potassium chromate and
lead nitrate.

From these two beakers, we can conclude that the volume of reactant used determines
the limiting reactant for the chemical reaction. Thus the more the quantities of limiting
reactant the more the amount of product produced through chemical reaction.

Based on the percentage yield, there were a few errors that occurred during the
experiment which are personal mistakes during the measuring of reactants. Thus there are a
few precautions that must be taken during the experiment in which the mass of precipitate
must be heated and measured until a constant mass is obtained and the apparatus must be
washed and dried properly before it is used in the experiment

EXPERIMENTAL ERRORS

There are a few experimental errors that occurred when the experiment was carried out. One
of them is, the eyes of the reader was not aligned or parallel with the meniscus of the
measuring cylinder while the measurement of substances were being conducted which might
cause the accuracy of the substances’ volume to not be accurate which might affect the
accuracy of the result. Another experimental error in this experiment is, the stirring rods were
placed directly on the table after used instead of being placed on an asbestos. Other than that,
another experimental error that was noticeable during the experiment is, the same rubber
policemen was used to transfer two type of precipitate which might have cause the two type
of precipitate to mix in a very small percentage.

PRECAUTION STEPS

Few precaution steps should be taken to conduct this experiment in order to obtain the most
accurate and precise results. Firstly, all the apparatuses should be cleaned and wiped using
a towel before conducting the experiment so that the dust on the apparatuses will not affect
the results of the experiment. One of the precaution steps that should be taken is by making
sure the fans in the lab are turned off during the weighing processes are being carried out in
order to avoid the mass of air to influence the real mass of the substances that are being
weighed. Another precaution step that should be taken is by making sure the reader’s eye is
aligned in a straight line with the meniscus of the measuring cylinder in order to obtain accurate
value of the volume of the substance that is being measured. Other than that, different rubber
policemen should be used to transfer the different types of precipitate to avoid the substances
from getting mixed even by a small percentage. Besides that, the weighing and heating
process of the precipitate should be carried out three times in order to obtain accurate and
precise values that will increase the accuracy of the results.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion from this experiment is that the more the quantity of limiting reactant
used the more product will be produced by a chemical reaction. We can also conclude that
the quantity of reactant determines the limiting reactant. This is because in beaker A which
has a lesser amount of potassium chromate, the potassium chromate becomes the limiting
reactant, while in beaker B which has lesser amount of lead(II) nitrate, the lead(II) nitrate
becomes the limiting reactant. The percentage yield obtained for beaker A is 75% and for
beaker B it is 83.3%. It varies because of the different values of molar mass for potassium
chromate and lead(II) nitrate. The objective of this experiment was achieved because we
have identified the limiting reactant for both beakers and the percentage yield for both
beakers were successfully calculated.

QUESTIONS

1.Define limiting reagent and excess reagent.

Limiting reagent is the reagent that will completely react or be used up and its quantity limits
the amount of products formed.

Excess reagent is the reagent that will not be used up when the reaction is finished.

2. What is the function of fluted filter papers?

The fluted filter papers make the filtering process much easier and avoids the filter papers
from getting a hole easily. Fluted filter papers also increase the total surface area by allowing
more precipitate to be collected in the filter paper.

3. Define supernatant liquid.

The liquid obtained after the filtering process when all the precipitate are filtered.
4.Case Study:

By considering the balanced equation below,

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy
What mass of carbon dioxide, CO2 forms in the reaction of 25 g of glucose, C6H12O6 with
40.0 g of oxygen, O2 ?
(hint: show the complete calculation using the stoichiometry method)

MOLAR MASS : ( CO2= 44.01 g/mol , C6H12O6= 180.156 g/mol , O2= 15.999 g.mol)

solution

Mol of glucose = 25g x 1 mol __ Mol of oxygen = 40.0 g x 1 mol__

180.156g 15.999
= 0.139 mol = 2.50 mol

Determine the limiting and excess reactant

0.139 mol C6H12O6 x 6 CO2_______ = 0.834 mol CO2

1 C6H12O6

2.50 mol O2 x 6 CO2 = 2.50 mol CO2

6 O2

Limiting reactant is glucose C6H12O6.

Mass of CO2

Mass = 0.834 mol x 44.01 g

1 mol
= 36.70 g of CO2.