Separating a Mixture Lab

In this lab, we separated a mixture of sand, salt, and iron. We then gathered all the materials necessary to complete this experiment. Then we combined all the ingredients to make a mixture of the different substances which were salt, sand and iron. Since our goal was to separate the mixture we made an outline on how we were going to complete this task. First, we took a magnet to separate the iron filings from the salt and sand. After that we added water to the mixture of salt and sand, and then used the filter. Once the sand was in the filter paper we began to heat up the water to get rid of the water which would leave us with only the salt. Then we had all three ingredients separated and we then measured how much we were left it and compared it to how much we started with. We then proceeded to clean up our area.

2) The reason we ended up with less iron than we started with because the magnet wasn’t as powerful as it needed to be so it didn’t pick up every last iron filing. The reason we ended up with less salt than what we started with because it could possibly be that it didn’t dissolve fully, and it could have gotten stuck with the sand in the filter paper. A possible reason we ended up with slightly less sand than what we started with is because the smaller parts of it could have gotten stuck with the filter paper, or it could have evaporated with the water.

3) We could have made our separation better by using a larger and more powerful magnet to get all of the iron filings out of the mixture. A way to make the measurement for sand more accurate is to not use the filter paper and add water, but to just put the salt and sand into a strainer with small holes that would only catch the sand. The same process works for getting a better measurement on the salt.

3) You chose how many digits to round your final answer by rounding it to as many digits as your first answer

This experiment relates to what we’re doing in class because in class we are learning about different mixtures and how they are chemically and physically changed, for example, homogenous and heterogeneous mixtures. A homogenous mixture is uniform throughout.  A heterogeneous is a mixture that is not identical throughout the entire mixture. The mixture that we created and separated is a heterogeneous mixture because it was not uniform throughout the process. There were different substances in various places at different times.

A question that I have is what are the other different methods to separating all different types of mixtures?

ENRICHMENT QUESTIONS:

Scientists use many different methods to purify extracted chemicals. For example, they use crystallization, evaporation, filtration, refining, electrolysis, and sublimation.

Indirect Measurement, Lab 1-2

In this lab, we first gathered our materials, two different kinds of aluminum foil, copper wire, a ruler, a graduated cylinder, and a scale for mass which is available in the classroom, and proceeded to experiment.  We collected the data for the aluminum foil, which included the length, width, mass, and density among other things. The length of the regular aluminum foil was 18.7 cm, the width was 13.8 cm, the mass was 1.1 grams, and the density was 2.698 g/cubic centimeter.  Then we found out the volume by substituting the mass and the density into the formula, mass equals density divided by volume. The volume ended up being .4077 cm cubed. Then, we substituted the volume into the formula volume equals length times width times height, which came out to be .0015. For the heavy duty aluminum foil, we followed the same process but with different measurements. For example the length was 24.1 cm, the width was 13.7 cm, the mass was 1.5 grams, and the density was 2.698 cm cubed. The height of the heavy duty foil was, .0017 cm. After we calculated the thickness of both types of foil, we then received copper wire in which we had to determine the diameter.  For the copper wire we determined about the same measurements as we did the aluminum foil. The length was 7.3 cm, the width was .2 cm, the mass was 5.2 grams, and the density was 8.960 grams per cubic centimeters. Then we determined the volume which ended up being .5803 cm cubed. The diameter was .028. We then proceeded to put all of our materials away.

1)      Water displacement is an inaccurate method for finding diameters and thickness, because the difference between the original water line and the new water line is minuscule so it is very hard to determine. Using the ruler is unreliable because you can very easily make a mistake with the measurements.

2)      This will represent a close measurement, but not an exact measurement. This is because mistakes in length, width, and different measurements could cause the formula to be inaccurate.

3)      The measurements used by the ruler could have been inaccurate because they could have been read wrong. This could cause an error in our diameter value.

ENRICHMENT QUESTIONS :

B) To figure this out, you can find out how large both aluminum foil rolls are, then apply the durability. Which is the thickness, and then compare that to the price and see which one is a better deal.

Green Stuff Lab

1)      In this lab, we first gathered all of our materials. This included: two beakers of the same or different size, one filled with water, and the other filled with the “Green Stuff” in it, and aluminum foil. We made observed the characteristics of the “Green Stuff” and poured the water into it. It then started to change colors as it started to disintegrate into the water. After it fully disintegrated into the water, we used the dropper and put a small amount of the mixture onto the aluminum foil. We proceeded to drop the liquid substance onto the aluminum foil, it started to bubble and soon it became a rust-like layer on the foil.  The color of this rust-like layer was a dark red, and eventually burned through to the table. We then placed the aluminum foil into the beaker of the “Green Stuff” and water mixture. The aluminum foil started to disintegrate into the mixture. We then made more observations and proceeded to clean up our work areas.

2)      A: You can determine if a property of the “Green Stuff” is a physical property because of its color. Color is part of the substance’s physical appearance; therefore it is a physical property. You can also determine if a property of the “green stuff” is a chemical property because of its reactivity with water, once it was placed into the water it immediately changed into a light blue color.

     

      B: The different phases of the matter of the chemicals used in the experiment were solid, liquid, and gas. The “Green Stuff” was a solid, because it of definite shape and volume; neither liquid nor gaseous. The water was a liquid because it didn’t have a definite shape but it was not a gas. Once the water and the “Green Stuff” were mixed, it became a liquid. The aluminum foil was a solid, because it had a definite shape, it was also a solid when the water mixture was on it. When it was fully placed into the water mixture, it was also a solid.

3)      The material relates to what we have been doing in class, because the energy is released and absorbed in different situations when exposed to different chemical compounds. For example, when the “Green Stuff” was placed into the water energy was released because the water changed color which gives us proof that the energy was released. Also when the “Green Stuff” and water mixture was placed onto the aluminum foil energy was released because it started to bubble and steam.  Heat was being produced which gives us evidence that the chemicals interacted and released energy.

A question that I have about this lab is when we placed the mixture of water and “Green Stuff” onto aluminum foil why it changed into a dark red?

4)      An experiment that I would like to try using the “Green Stuff” would be if we heated it, we could put it over a fire and see how it reacted. If we heated it, it might turn a specific color just like it did when we mixed it with water. The heat from the flame and the “Green Stuff” would cause a chemical reaction, thus causing it to change colors.