Determining the Molar Mass of a Volatile Liquid

Samantha Johnson
Giao Pham
Chem 1252L-035
January 26, 2015
Introduction: The purpose of this experiment was to determine the molar mass of a volatile
liquid. Since the liquid is unknown it is not possible to use the periodic table to determine the
molar mass. The way to experimentally find the molar mass of the liquid is to use the Dumas
method of condensing a gas using the number of moles the liquid correlated to the gas. The
Dumas equation can be rearranged to be able to find the density which helps find the molar mass.
In the experiment we assume the gas will behave ideally and the excess gas will leave the flask
through the pinhole. Since the volume of the flask is known at a temperature and pressure that is
also known the molar mass can be determined.
Procedure: A 250mL Erlenmeyer flask was weighed and the mass was recorded. A hot plate
was placed on the ring stand and turned on. A 1000mLbeaker was placed on the hot plate and
water was added. 5mL of the unknown liquid was added to the Erlenmeyer flask. A pinhole was
poked into the aluminum foil and then was placed over the flask. The aluminum foil was tightly
around the flask so none of the liquid would escape. Two boiling chips were placed in the water
to help the water boil faster. The flask was clamped to the ring stand and was lowered into the
water. The clamp was tightened so that the aluminum foil was not touching the water. The metal
trough was filled with cold tap water. The liquid vaporized and three minutes was counted.
After three minutes passed the flask moved to the cold water and sat for 5 minutes. The flask
was dried off with a paper towel. Another piece of aluminum foil then covered the hole when

walked over to the weighing station. The aluminum foil was removed and then the flask was
weighed. 3mL of unknown liquid was added to the flask and the process was repeated again
with a new piece of aluminum foil.
Data: The mass of the liquid was determined by subtracting the mass of the liquid in the flask
from the flask as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Mass of the unknown liquid.

The mass of the flask was measured to be 280.0mL or .2800L.

Calculations: The mass of the liquid was determined by taking the mass of the liqud after cooled
in the flask from the mass of the flask. The average was then taken from the two trials.
(mass of flask and liquid) (mass of flask) = mass of liquid
145.80g - 145.22g = .58g
The volume of the flask was determined by the amount of water that filled up the flask and then
was converted from milliliters to liters.
1L
(Volume in mL)( 1000 mL

) = Volume in L

1L
280.0mL( 1000 mL ) = .2800L

The temperature of 99.8C was then converted to the Kelvin system.

C + 273.15 = K
99.8C + 273.15= 373 K
The molar mass was the determined using a rearranged Dumas equation.

Molar Mass =

massRTemperature
PressureVolume

atmL
373 K
molK
1atm.2800 L

.54 g.08206

=59g/mol
The percent error was then calculated using the experimental value and the given actual value for
the unknown liquid #173.

% Error =

|measuredactual|

100

actual

|59 g / mol58.08 g /mol|

58.08 g /mol

100

=1.58%
Discussion: In the experiment a hot plate was used to help determine the molar mass of an
unknown liquid. An Erlenmeyer flask was filled with the unknown liquid and heated in a hot

water bath. A piece of aluminum foil was placed on top of the Erlenmeyer flask with a small
pinhole so the gas that was already in the flask could escape so all that would be left in the flask
would be the unknown liquid. After all of the liquid was vaporized it remained in the hot water
for another three minutes to make sure no excess air was still in the flask and would reach
equilibrium. The flask was then moved to a trough filled with cold tap water. The flask stayed
in the water for five minutes and then was weighed to see how much the liquid weighed. The
process was then repeated again with more of the liquid. The molar mass helps identify the
liquid but also the color, taste, and odor. During the experiment the water for our hot plate
heated the water to boil but it was not a rolling boil. The water not boiling the same way as the
other experiments might have caused the liquid to vaporize slower than what it normally takes to
vaporize. The smaller bubbles made it harder to determine when all the liquid vaporized. Not
knowing when the liquid completely vaporized could either mean there was still gad not from the
liquid still in the flask or some of the vaporized liquid could have escaped. Low pressure and
high temperature is also important in this experiment. These conditions help the vaporized liquid
act closer to ideal gas than other conditions. The high temperature and low pressure helps the
move faster and to spread out among the flask. In the first trial the flask was still warm so the
gas might not have condensed like it needed to in order to weigh the correct amount. In the
second trial the liquid was in the hot water a little longer than three minutes to make sure all the
excess air was gone which might have caused some of the vaporized liquid to escape and that is
why that mass is lower than the actual mass. If the experiment was a titration using the solid
state with an unknown alkali metal base it would be titrated with an acid. The solid would be
dissolved in water in an Erlenmeyer flask. An acid would be in the buret and then titrated until

the equivalence point is reached. It is possible to know when the point is reached because an
indicator was added so when the point is reached the base will start to turn pink in the flask.
Conclusion: The purpose of this experiment was to find the molar mass of an unknown liquid.
The experiment helps put into practice what is being taught in Chemistry 1252. It helps to show
what conditions help make a gas behave ideally. To help improve the experiment the liquid used
should have some color to it. Adding color to the liquid will make determining when all the
liquid has vaporized easier. Knowing when it has all vaporized will make the experimental error
less and the experiment more accurate.