De Mesa 1

Equilibrium Constant
Bettina Mae De Mesa
3/20/2014














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Abstract
The main purpose of this lab was to determine the equilibrium constant within a chemical
reaction with the utilization of a spectrophometer. With the use of graphing techniques as well as
data analysis, the equilibrium constant for a soluble equilibrium can be determined. The
reference solutions are concocted by mixing an excess of Fe3+ ions with the known compounds
of the SCN- ions. The assumption is that the reactions are going to be driven to completion due
to Le Chateliers principle, knowing that they contain a known concentration of FeSCN2+ ions.
Secondly, the various test solutions are made by mixing together a constant amount of the Fe3+
ions with varying amounts of the SCN- ions, which ultimately contain the unknown
concentration of FeSCN2+ ions. The absorbance of the solutions are then measured with a
spectrophomter. Referencing back of the solutions recorded absorbance, a calibration curve is
made then to determine the concentration of each of the test solutions. Ultimately, the calculated
concentrations can be utilized in order to determine the equilibrium constant.
In terms of results, the average equilibrium constant was 287.0. Referencing back to lecture,
Professor Miles stated that the results should be close to 250.0. With the use of that observed and
expected, the percentage error formula was used and ultimately obtained a finding of 14.80%
error. This percentage error is relatively small, asserting my confidence in the outcome of my
results. Standard deviation is the measure of how precise the average is, leading the calculation
of the standard deviation of Kc to be 39.5%. This high number can be linked back to random
error. The relative standard deviation on the other hand measures the precision, not accuracy of
the results. My findings came out to be 13.76% RSD.

Introduction
The use of a spectrophometer method of analysis includes the





Experimental Methods
In this experiment, a set of standard solutions with known concentrations were used in order to
determine the A for each solution. A spectophometer was used in order measure the transmitted
light intensities, and ultimately measure the absorbance on each substance. A blank was used in
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order to set the guideline for the measured graph. With the use of data studio, automatic
recording software, the absorbance of each test solution was monitored and hand recorded. The
Microsoft Excel document was also used in order to create the absorbance versus concentration
curve in part A. The programmed logarithms produced a scatter plot displaying the slope and r2
value of the graph. Using the slope, the equilibrium of the reaction was determined. Lastly, in
order to verify the given results. The Citrus College verification software was used in order to
assert the notion that the data collected is indeed correct. Extra calculations specified by the
professor included the relative standard deviation as well as the percentage error. Both formulas
can be found in the Beran lab manual and manually calculated.
In terms of experimental procedure, the volume of test solutions needed were followed exactly to
protocol. The clean up however included a thorough washing of the 25mL flasks as to avoid the
staining of the glassware itself.
Data

Caption: In this linear graph, the absorbance value is directly proportional to the molar
concentration of the utilized substance. With the use of a calculated slope as well as the
corresponding absorbance data, the molar concentration of the same absorbing species in a
solution of unknown concentration can be found. The slope of this particular graph is 2586.8
while the r2 value is getting closed to 1.
Discussion



y = 2586.8x
R = 0.9986
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0 0.00005 0.0001 0.00015 0.0002 0.00025
A
b
s
o
r
b
a
n
c
e

[FeNCS2+]
Absorbance Vs. FeNCS2+
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Conclusion
In this lab, a series of steps were conducted in order to establish the equilibrium constant of
[Fe(NCS)]2+. With the use of the calculated concentration equilibrium for each solution, a
calibration plot involving absorbance versues the concentration of [Fe(NCS)]2+ was made. From
this graph, it was determined that the concentration of the