Determining the empirical formula of MgO experimentally

How can one react Magnesium, heated by air, with Oxygen and use the mass of the reactant and
product to determine the empirical formula of Magnesium Oxide.

Background information:

When magnesium is heated in air, it reacts with oxygen. During the oxidation reaction, magnesium
oxide is produced. This increases the mass. If we know the mass of magnesium at the start, and the
mass of magnesium oxide produced at the end, we can calculate the mass of oxygen which has been
combined with the magnesium. We can use these masses to determine the empirical formula of
magnesium oxide.

Hypothesis:

If we were to react magnesium with oxygen by heating it in air, then the mass of the product would
increase in relation to the reactants and allow us to determine the empirical formula of magnesium
oxide.

Variables:

Independent variable
→Mass of the magnesium
→Temperature of the crucible

Dependent variable
→Mass of the magnesium oxide

Constant
→Mass of the crucible and lid

Apparatus and materials:

Apparatus Materials

Crucible with lid 0,21g Magnesium

Pipe-clay triangle

Tripod

Bunsen burner

Electronic scale
Risk assessment:

Hazard Risk Emergency Action How can this be

minimised?

Hot apparatus Risk of burning Place the burnt area Allow apparatus to
under cold running cool and/or use tools
water and alert the to avoid contact.
supervisor.

Procedure:

1. Record the mass of the empty crucible with its lid, and write down the results in a table.
2. Clean the piece of magnesium ribbon with sandpaper, then coil it loosely around a pencil.
3. Put the magnesium ribbon into the crucible and put the lid on, Record the mass of the
crucible, lid, and magnesium together, and write down the result in the table.
4. Put the cucible onto the pipe-clay triangle. Leave the lid slightly ajar to allow air into the
crucible. Heat gently for a minute, then strongly. Continue heating until the reaction has
finished.
 5. Turn the gas burner off, and allow the crucible to cool for a few minutes. Record the mass of
the crucible with its lid and contents.

Results: Raw and processed data

Evaluation:

As can be seen in the raw and processed date shown above, the product, being the magnesium oxide,
gained slightly more mass than what the reactants had before. Using this information and the
differences in masses, we can then deduce the empirical formula.

Conclusion

With the slightly increased mass of the reactants, I was able to find masses of the magnesium and
oxygen and thus also the mole numbers of the magnesium and oxygen. Using this information, I was
able to conclude that the empirical formula of the magnesium oxide is Mg14O.

Sources of Error

One source of error which we encountered was a random error with the electronic scale which skewed
the results somewhat and made us have to repeat the measurements. This can be mitigated by
repeating the measurements multiple times.