Chemistry 101 Report Separation of a Mixture Feb 25th, 2012

Purpose:
This lab was the separation of the components of a mixture. The three objectives in this lab were: 1. Learn the different separation techniques which include; sublimation, extraction, decantation, filtration and evaporation. 2. Separate two components in a mixture using the separation techniques learned. 3. Determine the mass percentages of the two components present in a mixture.

Equipment:
Analytical balance, Bunsen burner, rubber hose, tongs, evaporating dishes, watch glasses, 100-mL graduated cylinder, clay triangle, ring stand, iron ring, glass stirring rod

Introduction:
Mixtures are composed of two or more substances mixed together. Mixtures can be homogeneous, or uniformly distributed; they can also be heterogeneous, or not uniformly distributed. The components of a mixture remain chemically unchanged. They are merely physically mixed. Therefore, it is possible to separate them. There are several ways to separate substances, depending on the properties of the substances. Some substances dissolve when placed in water. These substances are miscible or soluble in water. Others are unchanged when placed in water. These substances are immiscible or insoluble in water. Thus, if a soluble substance is mixed with an insoluble substance, separation through decantation can take place. Decantation involves pouring water onto a mixture and stirring. The soluble substance will dissolve, leaving the insoluble one intact. The newly-formed aqueous mixture of water and the soluble substance can be poured into a separate container and heated so that the water evaporates. The substance have now been separated without any changes to the elemental composition of the substances. Decantation is usually performed more than once on the insoluble substance to ensure that all particles of the soluble substance have been removed. Some substances can pass directly from the solid to the gaseous stage without first melting and becoming liquid. These substances are said to be able to sublime. Substances that sublime, when mixed with substances that do not sublime, can be separated by heating the mixture until the substance that can sublime is completely gone. One can determine whether sublimation is complete by whether smoke is being produced. If smoke is being produced, then sublimation is occurring.

A third method of separation is called filtration. This is the process of separating a solid from a liquid by means of a porous filter which allows the liquid to pass through but not the solid. This has nothing to do with solubility or ability to sublime, but rather simply the physical phase of the substances and the permeability of the filter. Antoine Lavoisiers Law of the Conservation of Mass states that in a chemical reaction, matter is neither created nor destroyed. Likewise, in any physical separation, matter is not created or destroyed. The mass of the products of separation should equal the mass of the original substance. All ionic compounds are soluble in water. Some common substances that can sublime are naphthalene and ammonium chloride. In this experiment, three pre-mixed substances will be separated using the methods outlined above. These substances are sodium chloride (an ionic compound, soluble in water), ammonium chloride (able to sublime), and silicon dioxide (insoluble in water, not able to sublime).

A third method of separation is called filtration. This is the process of separating a solid from a liquid by means of a porous filter which allows the liquid to pass through but not the solid. This has nothing to do with solubility or ability to sublime, but rather simply the physical phase of the substances and the permeability of the filter.

Procedure
1. A vial of the unknown mixture was obtained. A small, dry evaporating dish was weighed and the mass was recorded... The contents of the vial were emptied onto the evaporating dish. The dish and sample were weighed and the mass was recorded. 2. The dish was placed onto a ring stand. The dish was heated using a Bunsen burner, producing white smoke. When production of smoke stopped, the dish was placed on a cooling pad. Once cool, the dish was weighed and the mass was recorded. 3. A dry evaporating dish with a watch glass on it was weighed and the mass was recorded. About 25 milliliters of water was added to the mixture in the evaporating dish. The contents of the dish were stirred with a glass stirring rod... Ten milliliters of water was added to the evaporating dish, and the stirring and decanting was repeated.

4. Ring stand was set up. On the ring stand, the contents of the large evaporating dish were heated... After having been sufficiently heated to remove water, the dish was allowed to cool. The dish was then weighed and the mass was recorded.

Data and result:

Consult the page attached to the report

Discussion:
In this lab of Separation of the components of a mixture certain separation techniques were used and learned. In part B extraction was observed in separation of the water insoluble solid. The beaker from part A was used. Distilled water was added to the solid in beaker 2; it was then heated while being stirred occasionally for 5 minutes. The NaCl was said to dissolve leaving only the insoluble sea sand in beaker 2. Filtration was also observed in this experiment; first filter paper was folded and wetted then placed flat into a funnel. The funnel was placed into the apparatus for the gravity filtration. The remaining mixture found in beaker 1 was then poured into the gravity filtration apparatus and the filtrate was collected into the beaker. After that the funnel was removed and an additional amount of distilled water was put into beaker 1 and poured over the residue found in the funnel. The water was poured twice over the funnel. After all of the residue and filtrate was filtered the beaker was placed on a hotplate, the water boiled for a few minutes and the amount of liquid reduced quickly. The NaCl that was dissolved started to precipitate into a white solid. Once all of the liquid was gone the beaker was taken off the hotplate to be cooled to room temperature. Once it was fully cooled the weight of the beaker containing now dry NaCl was taken. The mass of the recovered NaCl was determined by subtracting the mass of the empty beaker 2 and the mass of the beaker containing the dry NaCl. The results were tabulated... In part C, the sea sand had to be dried for the recovery calculations on the data sheet. To dry sea sand first the sand was placed into a clean beaker and was weighed. The wet sand was then transferred from the filter paper into the clean beaker. The beaker containing the sand was then placed onto the hot plate, until the sand had dried completely. The sand was then cooled to room temperature and weighed. The mass of the recovered sea sand was determined by subtracting the mass of the empty beaker from the mass of the beaker containing dry sea sand. The results were tabulated. For the Calculations part of the experiment percent yield and percentages of all substances was found. The percent yield was found by dividing the mass of the recovered solids by the mass of the mixture, then multiplying the answer by 100. The percentage yield for this experiment was tabulated. The makeup of that result is divided up between NaCl and sea sand. It is a reasonable percent yield but there is always room for error in lab experiments.

Some errors that could have been made in this experiment include: 1. Not measuring the unknown mixture in the beginning of the experiment. 2. Rushing through the experiment by not letting the sand fully dry or not letting the NaCl dissolve in the water. 3. In the lab book it was stated not to let the water boil during the heating of the filtered water. In the lab though the water was allowed to be boiled, which may have disturbed the experiment. 4. Reasons why percentage yield may have differed from 100% could also be human error in calculations and the mass of the recovered solids was less than the mixture %.

Conclusion:
A homogeneous mixture is uniform mixtures that have properties throughout the given samples, and it can separate by filtration or physical procedures. In our laboratory, we separate salt (NaCl) from sand by dissolving the saltin water because salt is soluble in water. We can separate salt from sand because salt is dissolved in water.

The experiment was completed to a high degree of success. Familiarity with the methods of separating substances from one another using decantation, extraction, and sublimation techniques was gained, and the material was recovered to a reasonable degree of accuracy.