Christina Svensson

Emery White
06.03.2009
24.04.2009
Mr Porter
SCH3UE-03

Mass Relationship in a Chemical Reaction

Purpose:
To determine the mass of copper formed when a given mass of a copper salt reacts with excess
aluminum.

Apparatus and Materials:

– 250 mL beaker
– Stirring rod
– Burner
– CuCl2 . 2H2O
– Iron ring
– Wire gauze
– Ring stand
– Aluminum strip

Procedure:
1. The mass of a dry and clean beaker was determined, and approximately 2.00 g of copper (II)
chloride dihydrate was added (measured to the nearest 0.01 g). 75 mL of water was also
added to dissolve the copper compound.
2. The aluminum strip was placed in the beaker
3. The beaker with the solution and the aluminum strip was placed on a wire gauze on a ring
stand and heated until it gently boiled. The solution was taken off after boiling gently for 5
minutes. The beaker was left to cold down until it was cold enough to touch.
4. The aluminum strip was shaken to dislodge the copper. The aluminum strip was then
removed, and the liquid in the beaker was carefully poured into the sink to not lose any
copper.
5. 75 mL of water was added to the copper and stirred to wash it. The water was discarded into
the sink. This step was repeated two more times to properly wash the copper.
6. The beaker was then gently heated to drive the water of the wet copper.
7. The beaker was allowed to cool, and after it was all cooled down, the mass of the beaker
and copper was determined.

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Qualitative Observations:
Dry Copper (II) Chloride Dihydrate
(CuCl2 . 2H2O)
Wet Copper (II) Chloride Dihydrate and
water (CuCl2 . 2H2O ) (H2O)
Aluminum strip
Wet Copper (after reaction)
(Cu)
Light blue/ turquoise crystals, solid
Copper is attaching to the aluminum strip,
maroon coloured, spongy texture
Water losing its blue “shine” becoming
completely colourless
Silver/ grey, bendy, solid
Copper colour, dry, small dark spots
indicating oxidation, some chloride is left
(white residue), solid

Quantitative Observations:
Mass of empty beaker 108.39 g ±0.01 g
108.39 g ±0.01 g
108.39 g ±0.01 g
Mass of beaker with copper salt 109.60 g ± 0.01 g
109.60 g ± 0.01 g
109.60 g ± 0.01 g
Mass of beaker and copper 108.84 g ± 0.01 g
108.84 g ± 0.01 g
108.84 g ± 0.01 g

Calculations:
Mass of Copper (II) Chloride Dihydrate started with:
mCuCl2 • 2H2O=109.60 g ± 0.01 g-(108.39 g ±0.01 g)
mCuCl2 • 2H2O=1.21 g ±0.02 g
∑The mass of Copper (II) Chloride Dihydrate before completed reaction was 1.21 g ±0.02 g.

Mass of copper ended up with:

mCu=108.84 g ±0.01 g-(108.39 g ±0.01 g)
mCu=0.45 g ±0.02 g
∑The mass of copper after completed reaction was 0.45 g ± 0.02 g.

The theoretical mass of copper that should have formed from the original amount of copper (II)
chloride dihydrate:
3CuCl2.2H2O+2Al
m3CuCl2.2H2O+2Al=363.5462×35.453×22×1.007915.999
m3CuCl2.2H2O=13517.3780364.5015684

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m3CuCl2.2H2O=209.5666565

n=mM
n=1.21209.5666565
n=0.0057738193
nCu=0.0057738193×3Cu3CuCl2.2H2O
nCu=0.0057738193 mol

m=nM
mCu=0.0057738193 mol×64.5015684 g/mol
mCu=0.3724204005 g
∑The theoretical mass of copper that should have formed from the original amount of copper (II)
chloride dihydrate is ~0.37 g.

Percentage error according to the given equation:

% error=actual value-theoretical valuetheoretical value ×100%
% error=0.45-0.37242040050.3724204005 ×100%
% error=0.2083118954×100%
% error=20.83118954%
% error ~ 20.83%
∑The percentage error in the mass of copper is ~20.83%.

Discussion:
In this experiment, the mass of copper formed when a given mass of copper salt reacts with excess
aluminum was determined. The mass of copper (II) chloride dihydrate started with, was 1.21 g, and
the final mass of copper was calculated to be 0.45 g. The theoretical mass of copper is ~0.37 g.
This lead to a rather high percentage error of ~20.83%. This means there must have been
impurities left in the copper after the reaction and the drying process (reheating), like water,
chloride left in the copper (see qualititative observations), etc. It is most likely water, as the copper
started to burn, and as a result it was taken of the heat. This resulted in the copper being moist, and
caused an increase in mass. To avoid this, the copper could be given enough time to dry and/or
heated on an even lower temperature. This way, the copper will dry, and any water will not affect
the copper as it evaporates. The white chloride residue is a result of an incomplete reaction, and
cannot be improved by drying the copper properly. The amount of aluminum must be increased to
perform a completed reaction, and hopefully, the white residue (the chloride) will be gone.

Sources of error:
In this experiment we experienced three sources of error during this experiment.
The first error we experienced while heating the copper to get rid of the excess water. The
temperature must have been too high, as some of the copper got burnt. This caused the mass of
copper to... [see attachment]. To prevent this, the copper could have been heated on a lower
temperature, avoiding such a high temperature burning the copper, turning it black.
Another error we experienced was a small amount of white residue mixed with the copper,
this being chloride precipitate left after an incomplete reaction. This caused the mass to increase, as
the residue also has a mass. To prevent this, a higher amount of aluminum could be added, to make
it easier to perform a completed reaction. Another solution to prevent this error from occurring
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would be to lower the temperature when boiling the solution gently. If overheated, the copper (II)
chloride dihydrate could start reacting without the magnesium strip, causing chloride precipitate to
be left with the copper.
A third, and also the largest source of error, was the water left in the copper while massing
it. Water left in the copper would increase the mass as water has a quite large mass. Improvements
would be more time, which would have helped the copper dry properly and made the mass more
correct. Also, heating the copper more gently, on a lower temperature, would also have removed the
excess water, increasing the accuracy of the mass.

Conclusion:
In this experiment we were able to succeeded in completing the purpose of this lab: to calculate the
mass of the copper left after reacting copper (II) chloride dihydrate and aluminum, using the mass
of copper determined in the experiment: 0.45 g. With a high percentage error (~20.83%), some
factors were found to have affected the final mass of the copper, and suggestions for improvements
were made.

References:
Porter, Michael. 06.03.09. Lab: Mass relationship in a Chemical Reaction.