Chemistry
Subject Code: 5070
Experimental Design
Apparatus are the various instruments and the
containers that are used to perform different
experiments and to take different measurements.
It is extremely important that these apparatuses are
finely tuned and accurate as their accuracy derives
the findings and measurements of the experiment.
SI Units are the relative standard units of
measurements that are used for different
measurements throughout the subject.
Mass is referred to as the “amount of matter” a
substance holds within. The units used for mass
are Kg (Kilogram), g(Gram) and for even smaller
objects mg(milligram). The conversation for these
units is as follows:
1 Kg= 1000 g
1 g= 1000 mg
There are two kinds of balances used to measure
mass.
1. Beam Balance: this apparatus has a pan on
one end and movable mass on one end. As you
place the sample on to the pan, the objective is to
move the mass along the scale as the beam
becomes horizontal. The accuracy of the reading
depends on the skill level of the person carrying out
the experiment.
2. Electronic Balance: this apparatus has a digital
display that gives the reading to its nearest 0.01g as
the sample is placed on to the pan. An Electronic
Balance is extremely easy to use and accurate.
The mass of a beaker is 181.65 g. When a sample
of ethanol is poured into the beaker, the mass is
raised to 243. 76 g. What is the mass of ethanol?
Solution:
Mass of Ethanol = Mass of Beaker and Ethanol –
Mass of Beaker
= 243.76 – 181.65 = 62.11 g
The amount of space a substance occupies is called
the Volume of the substance. The SI units for
volume are m3, dm3, cm3. Litre and Millilitre (l, ml)
are not SI units for Volume. The conversion for
these units is:
1 m3 = 1000 dm3
1 dm3 = 1000 cm3
1 l = 1 dm3
1 ml = 1 cm3
Different apparatuses have different degrees of
accuracy. And so even though apparatus such as
beaker may provide you with an estimate of volume,
they are not fit for calculation due to low accuracy. A
burette gives the reading to the nearest 0.05cm3, a
pipette is accurate to + - 0.05cm3 of the marked
value and a volumetric flask is accurate to + -
0.1cm3 of the marked value.
The liquid is measured from the bottom of the
meniscus if it’s an aqueous solution and at the top of
meniscus if its mercury. For liquids that are opaque,
and the lower meniscus cannot be seen,
measurement is taken from the upper level.
For insoluble gases, they can be collected in an
inverted burette filled with water. For gases that are
soluble in water, mercury can be used.
For measuring time, a digital stopwatch is used as
they measure time accurately to fractions of a
second.
Temperature is the degree of how hot the body is at
an instance. The SI unit for temperature is Kelvin.
The conversion from Centigrade to Kelvin is as
follows:
Centigrade = Kelvin – 273
Kelvin = Centigrade + 273
A liquid glass thermometer has a scale from -10 to
110 C. the liquid may be alcohol or some other liquid
with a dye to make it visible. However, mercury
thermometers are usually used as the
responsiveness of mercury to temperature is much
faster. There are also electronic thermometers that
can be also used.
Metal-Acid And Carbonate-Acid Reactions
Reactions of metal or metal carbonate with acid
produce gases and so a combination of apparatuses
must be used for these experiments.
Metal + dilute acid = metal salt + hydrogen
Metal Carbonate + dilute acid = metal salt +
carbon dioxide
Here the rate of reaction can either be calculated by
the rate at which volume is collected or the rate at
which the reaction mixture losses mass.
A dropping funnel is used, it carries a dilute acid
which is run into a conical flask with the metal. And
so the gas evolved during the reaction is then
contained in a volumetric syringe attached.
Methods Of Collecting Gas
Gases that are not soluble in water and are not
required dry are collected in an inverted tube over
water. A trough and gas jar is filled with water and
the gas is collected through a delivery tube that goes
in it.
This method of collecting gas is only applicable for
gases that are not soluble in water.
The other two methods are downwards or
upwards delivery method, we take into
consideration the density of the gas being collected
when making the decision.
Gases denser than air are collected by downward
delivery. Cl2, CO2, SO2.
Gases that are less dense than air are collected by
upward delivery. H2
