Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide :: essays research papers

Empirical Formula of Magnesium OxideDate purpose The aim of this audition was to determine the empirical formula of milligram oxide. Equipment agreementCrucible and eyehatBunsen burnerMagnesium ribbon (0.2g)Steel woolCrucible tongsPipe clay triangleTripodProcedure 1. expiryure a clean, dry crucible and chapeau, wherefore heat them for approximately 5 minutes over a Bunsen burner2.Clean the surface of a 20 cm strip of atomic number 12 ribbon using nerve wool3.Coil the magnesium ribbon, so that it fits into the crucible4.Weigh crucible and palpebra on a balance, and record the mass5.Place magnesium ribbon into crucible, replace the lid and weigh once more6. warmheartedness the crucible and its content with the lid off until the magnesium begins to glow7. fill in the lid and heat the crucible strongly8.Continue to heat the crucible, at times lifting the lid with tongs to provide atomic number 8 for the reaction9.When all magnesium has reacted, remove the lid and heat stro ngly for 5 minutes10. switch crucible lid and allow to cool11.Reweigh the crucible with its contents and lidObservations Once the magnesium was in the crucible and was being heated by the Bunsen burner, it glowed for a brief time. It then caught fire before the lid was placed on top. When it came into contact with the oxygen, the magnesium started glowing extremely bright, and intensely white. The glow became orange after some time. The magnesium ribbon then turned white.ResultsMass of crucible and lid29.9 gMass of crucible, lid and magnesium30.1 gMass of magnesium0.2 gMass of crucible, lid and magnesium oxide30.3 gMass of magnesium oxide0.4 gMass of oxygen combined with magnesium 0.2 gQuestions1. a) The mass of magnesium which reacted was 0.2 grams.b) The mass of oxygen that combined with the magnesium was 0.2 g.2. What is the empirical formula of magnesium oxide?Mg0.2 g0.224.310.0080.0081=2O0.2 g0.2160.01250.0081.56 =3Thus the empirical formula of Magnesium Oxide is Mg O .3. why atomic number 18 the crucible and lid heated at the beginning of the experiment before being weighed?The crucible and lid are heated at the beginning of the experiment before being weighed so that any moisture in the crucible is burned away. Moisture is heavy, and thus it can agitate the results of the experiment, as we only want the weight of magnesium and the magnesium oxide.4. What are the possible sources of error in this experiment?Possible sources of error in this experiment include the inaccuracy of measurements, as correct measurements are vital for the experiment.The waiver of magnesium oxide smoke can also be counted as a possible source of error if you should lose some of the smoke, there would be a less amount of magnesium oxide than expected at the end of the experiment.