AN ALTERNATIVE EXPERIMENT ON A STUDY OF ELEMENTS, COMPOUNDS AND MIXTURES

INTRODUCTION
MATTER

PURE SUBSTANCE

MIXTURE

ELEMENTS

COMPOUNDS

HOMOGENEOUS SOLUTION

HETEROGENEOUS

SUSPENSION

COLLOID

Matter is a substance that has inertia and occupies physical space. The study of matter has a very wide scope which includes elements, compounds and mixtures. Matter can be classified into pure substance and mixtures. Elements are pure substances which are composed of only one kind of atom. Compounds, on the other hand, are pure substances that are combinations of two or more different atoms and are held together by chemical bonds. The difference between the two is that elements cannot be further simplified into a simpler form even through chemical changes and or reactions while compounds can. Mixtures are physical combinations of two or more pure substances wherein each substance retains its own chemical identity. It is classified into two: Homogeneous and Heterogeneous. Homogeneous mixtures have the same property throughout the system and show only one phase. Such mixtures are called solutions. However, Heterogeneous mixtures show two or more phases with definite boundaries. Under heterogeneous are the mixtures suspension, where big particles that are not completely dissolved in the solvent are suspended either at the bottom or at the top, and colloid, where the mixture produce a cloudy appearance and shows that the particles are big enough to scatter light. The scattering of light is called the Tyndall effect. Mixtures can also be simplified by means of simple physical operations such as filtration and magnetic segregation unlike compounds which cannot be broken down into simple substances by ordinary physical means.

This experiment aims for students to be able to differentiate mixtures and pure substances, to classify substances as an element, compound and mixture, and for the students to apply and completely understand these terms. The experiment also contributes to green chemistryand gives students knowledge of how elements, compounds and mixtures combine and what products it produces; the process of breaking down some of the compounds is toxic and dangerous to our surroundings. With this experiment, students will be more aware and cautious of using chemicals around them.

OBJECTIVES OF THE EXPERIMENT The objectives of these experiments are as follows:

To differentiate between mixtures and pure substances To classify the substances under study as: element, compound or mixture.

MATERIALS AND REAGENTS The materials that are going to be used in the experiment are Ignition tube, 50 mL beaker, 3 test tubes, test tube rack, stirring rod, watch glass, medicine dropper, rubber stopper fitted with delivery tube, burner, iron stand, iron clamp, magnet, and balloon. The reagents are detergent powder, iron filings, moth ball, carbonated soda and distilled water.

PROCEDURES I. DETERGENT POWDER AND IRON FILINGS

Take a small amount of detergent powder and iron filings.Note down their physical properties. Test the effect of magnet on detergent powder and iron filings. Get 2 test tubes and label them A and B. Place a pinch of detergent powder in test tube A and iron filings in test tube B. Add 10 drops of water in both test tubes. Observe their physical properties and test the effect of magnet on both mixtures. Get another test tube and label it as test tube C.Place a pinch of detergent powder and

iron filings in it.Add 10 drops of water in test tube C. Observe. Test the effect of magnet on detergent powder and iron filings. Note down their physical properties.

II.

MOTH BALLS Place a moth ball in a dry tube fitted with a delivery tube. Tie a small balloon at the end of the delivery tube. Heat the tube gently and allow the gas to enter the balloon. Note your observations.

III.

CARBONATED SODA Place about 10 mL of carbonated soda in a 50mL beaker. Heat the beaker and its contents until the water evaporates. Observe. After heating, notice the formation of black powder at bottom of the beaker. Identify that powder. Note down their physical properties.

DATA AND RESULTS TEST TUBE A DESCRIPTION The iron filings were dark brownish in color and solid in form. When water was added, the iron filings was suspended at the bottom of the test tube, The detergent powder is white in color. When water was added, the mixture became cloudy and can perform Tyndall effect. The mixture with water was cloudy in color. The iron filings were distributed in the mixture instead of being suspended at the bottom. EFFECT OF MAGNET The iron filings reacted to the magnet but when water was added, it did not react to the magnet anymore. TYPE OF MIXTURE Heterogeneous (Suspension)

The detergent powder doesnt show any signs of reaction to the magnet. When water was added, there is still no reaction to the magnet. The mixture has no reaction to the magnet.

Heterogeneous (Colloid)

Heterogeneous (Suspension)

Naphthalene (C10H8) Sublimation Hydrogen Gas

Carbonated Soda Evaporation Sugar Crystals

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS In the first experiment, the iron filings were dark brownish in color, solid in form and can react to magnet while the detergent powder are white in color, powder in form and cannot react to magnet. However, when water was added, a reaction occurred. Now, both mixtures do not react to magnet. The iron filings didnt dissolve in the water compared to the detergent powder which dissolved in the water. Both mixtures are under the heterogeneous mixture. Test tube A which contains the iron filings and water is a suspension since the iron filings are suspended at the bottom. Test tube B, containing the detergent powder and water, is a colloid since it has a cloudy appearance and can perform Tyndall effect. Test tube C contains both iron filings and detergent powder with water. The mixture is a colloid because it shows a cloudy appearance and the iron filings didnt dissolve and was not suspended at the bottom. Instead it was distributed in the mixture. The mixture also has no reaction to the magnet. In the second experiment, the moth ball melted when it was heated which immediately produced a gas which was collected in the balloon. The gas collected was hydrogen gas. The separation of the compound is called sublimation wherein matter undergoes a phase transition directly from a solid to gaseous form. In the last experiment, a 10 ml carbonated soda was heated in a 50 ml beaker. After a few minutes of waiting for the water to evaporate,black crystals was formed. This powder is the sugar in the carbonated soda. It was separated by means of the process called evaporation.

CONCLUSION Matter is classified into two: pure substances and mixtures. Under pure substances are elements and compounds. Elements contain only one kind of atom while compounds are combinations of two or more atoms which are held together by

chemical bonds. Mixtures, on the other hand, are a physical combination of two or more pure substances that can be broken down into simpler forms by means of simple physical operations. It is also classified into two: homogeneous which has only one phase and heterogeneous which has two or more phases with definite boundaries and can perform Tyndall effect, the scattering of light. There are also different processes on how to break down compounds and mixtures such as sublimation and evaporation. Sublimation is when matter undergoes a phase transition directly from a solid to gaseous form. Evaporation, meanwhile, is a
process by which any substance is converted from a liquid state into and carried off in vapour.