Group 5 Date submitted: December 1, 2010

Date performed: November 22, 2010

Members: Diana Colleen Dimayuga
Justine Castelo
Anagella Terese De Jesus

Activity No.2
Determination of Melting Points of Organic Compounds

I. Objectives

A. To recognize melting point as a physical property that can serve as an

index of purity

B. To determine the melting point of a substance using simple apparatus

C. To identify the unknown organic compounds using melting point as basis

II. Data and Results

A. Comparison of the Melting Point Range of a Pure Substance and a Mixture of

Substances

Test Substance Melting Point Range °C Average

tube Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
A Naphthalene 73-79 74-77 73-78 73-78
B Acetanilide 99-108 102-112 102-104 101-111
C Benzoic acid 89-96 91-99 90-100 90-99
D Benzoin 99-108 101-109 98-108 99-108
E Cinnamic 120-132 123-136 124-131 122-133
acid
K Impure 72-81 70-79 73-80 72-80
substance

B. Identification of Organic Compounds by Mixed Melting point

Test Substance Melting point range °C Average

tube Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
A Unknown 65-80 60-85 64-83 63-83
% Error = [(True Value – Experimental Value) / True Value] * 100

= [(80 – 63-83) / 80] * 100

= 0.86%

III. Discussion

Like other physiochemical constants, melting point is a useful tool for

identification purposes. It also gives an indication of the purity of a sample. Many
covalent organic compounds have low melting points and narrow melting point ranges.
Moreover, impurities on a substance cause a change in the melting point which widens
the melting point range.

After using the capillary tube method for determining the melting point, A
(Naphthalene) is found to have the lowest melting point and E (Cinnamic acid) is
found to have the highest melting point among the set which also includes B
(Acetanilide), C (Benzoic acid) and D (Benzoin). Test tube A has an average melting
point range of 73 – 78°C which indicates that the compound isolated is slightly impure
since it is still close to the literature value of 80°C. Test tube B has an average melting
point range of 101 – 111°C which indicates that the compound is impure since the
expected range is between 114 – 116°C. Test tube C is extremely impure with 90 –
99°C melting point range which is 22°C lower than the literature value of 121 – 125°C.
Test tube D can also be considered extremely pure with a melting point range of 99 –
108°C, significantly lower than 137°C. Test tube E is pure since it has a melting point
range of 122 – 133°C garnering the same melting point of the literature value which is
133C.

The melting point range of K (impure substance) is 72 – 80°C. The range of 8°C
is still quite wide but test tubes C and D have a wider melting point range so test tube K
is less impure than C and D. The unknown substance has a melting point range of 63 –
83°C. The closest compound which has the nearest melting point to it is naphthalene.

As in all experimentations, errors are encountered in determining melting points.

These errors might have been caused by rapid heating of the reagents, inconsistencies
in taking the measurement, heating assembly and setup and possibly, contamination of
the isolated substances.

IV. Conclusion
 Melting point is a physical property that does not change the chemical
composition of a substance. Hence, it only changes the state of the substance. Melting
point is useful for identification purposes and can also serve as an index of purity by
showing if the melting point range is narrow and high. Impurities destroy uniformity
among bonds which causes lower melting points and wider melting point ranges.

Apparatus like beaker, burner, thermometer, oil bath and capillary tubes are
simple yet very useful tools in determining melting point of certain substances.

Melting points can also be used as a basis to identify an unknown substance.

Unknown substances can be identified by comparing the true values of substance with
the acquired experimental values of the substance. In the experiment, the experimental
value of the unknown is 63 - 83°C so it can be identified as Naphthalene because the
literature value of Naphthalene is 80°C.

V. References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphthalene

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamic_acid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzoin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetanilide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzoic_acid