Hydrate Lab

Yesterday I was able to do my first real lab in chemistry because my partner and I passed the pre-lab quiz. For this lab, we removed the water from the the hydrate Copper Sulfate x nH20. To do this, we first determined the mass of the test tube we would be using. Then we added a thumb-width amount of the hydrate to the test tube and took the mass again with the same scale. Then we heated it with a Bunsen burner 2 times, taking the mass once again after each heating. The hydrate was supposed to go from it's blue color to a white ash color. However, we discovered that we didn't hear it gently enough at first, so we ended up burning the hydrate and it turned brown on the outside while remaining rather blue within. Although we did mess up our results by burning the hydrate, we ended up with about a 28% error for n, as it was supposed to be 5 and we got about 3.8, which isn't too shabby for cooking our crystals way past well done. Below are some pictures of the lab as well as our data.

Moles with Compounds

AlsTo find the molar mass of compounds, follow these steps:

1. Determine the mass of each element in the compound.

2. Determine the number of each atom in the compound.

3. Multiply the number of each atom by its mass and add all of the products together.

4. This sum is going to be your answer and it should be in grams per mole(or g/mol).

Below are some examples from our notes...

Also here is a video to help explain in more detail

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zJDhsbjAEtI

Converting to Moles

Moles are the measuring unit that we will be using throughout the year, so it is important that we understand how to convert into moles. With single elements, there are 4 easy steps to follow:

1. Decide what is being asked(starting unit and ending unit)

2. Write down all the given information

3. Use the starting unit to follow to mole roadmap(pictured below) to convert into the ending unit

4. Round to the correct number of significant figures. This will be the least amount of sig figs in any of the present values in the conversions.

Also here are some websites to help with conversions:

http://www.chemteam.info/Mole/Grams-to-Moles.html

http://chemistry.about.com/od/workedchemistryproblems/a/molegramconvert.htm

Do you dig sig figs?

Significant figures have a common appearance in chemistry, and they seem difficult at a glance, but aren't too complex when you go beneath their surface. Rules to remember at that the zeros before a decimal are not significant unless sanwhiched between 2 whole numbers. Also, the zeros to the right of the decimal follow the same rule being that the are significant if between 2 while numbers. Lastly, zeros at the end of the digits to the right of the decimal are significant as well. 

States of Matter

To help us the states of matter and properties of each state, we did an activity. In the activity, we went to different stations, and we had to decide either the state something was in, or wether it was a compound, element, or solution. This helped me learn the difference between all of those because I got hands on experience which is beneficial to myself as well as several other classmates that participated in the activity.

Thoughts on Aspirin Lab

This week in class we did a lab synthesizing apirin. However, I did not pass the pass the pre-lab quiz because I did not read the lab thoroughly enough. I did have a study hall all week in class along with some others, and I was able to update my blog! Next time, I will definitely know the lab front and back before we take the pre-lab quiz, so I don't have to sit out on any more labs!

Happy Mole Day!

Today is mole day and to celebrate, we were assigned the task to see a mole ourselves. I decided to make a cheetah girl mole, named Raven Si"mole", because I had some cheetah print fabric already, so it would be easiest. I had to hand sew it because I don't know how to work a sewing machine, and I also had to stuff it with tissues since I didn't have stuffing. Below is my mole as well as several other people's miles from today's celebration.