This experiment was conducted to identify a quantity of unknown metal using calorimeter and conservation of heat principles and determine specific heat of metals. Specific Heat of Metal by definition: The heat required to raise the temperature of the unit mass of a given substance by a given amount (usually one degree). William Cleghorn invented the concept of specific heat to explain the different amounts of thermal energy that different materials absorb when their temperatures increase. He’d measured latent heats — […]
The purpose of this experiment was to separate two liquids using Simple and Fractional Distillations. Separation by distillation works by manipulating the chemicals’ colligative properties and intermolecular forces. Reagents in the Experiment: Cyclohexane Toluene Analysis: This experiment attempted to separate two liquids, cyclohexane and toluene. These chemicals have different intermolecular forces and therefore have dissimilar boiling points. […]
The purpose of this experiment was to practice fundamental laboratory techniques by isolation of caffeine, from tea leaves. Camellia sinensis (tea) Caffeine Analysis (Isolation of Caffeine) This experiment was conducted to study the simple isolation of an alkaloid and to train with fundamental laboratory equipment like the separatory funnel and distillation apparatus. Ten commercial tea bags (23.06 grams) were used for the extraction. Boiling water (~275 mL) was used to extract caffeine from the solid leaves. This was the most efficient solvent […]
Thin layer chromatography is an important analytical test for identifying unknown compounds, monitoring reactions, and testing chemical purity. The purpose of this experiment was to acquire the TLC technique. Chlorophyll: a common plant pigment Analysis Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is an essential analytical technique for organic experiments. It is a quick and simple method for determining the number of compounds in a mixture, identifying an unknown, testing purity, and monitoring reactions. These tests occur on chromatographic sheets, commonly constructed of alumina […]
The purpose of this experiment was to practice technique and acid-base extraction by separating and purifying the components of a common analgesic tablet. Analysis The purpose of this experiment was to separate and purify the components of an analgesic tablet. Furthermore, the separations allowed for practice of acid-base extractions. This experiment tested laboratory technique, considering that the pill used, Excedrin, contains only milligrams of the drugs to be separated: acetaminophen, caffeine, and aspirin (see Table A for acid/base comparison by […]
Purpose The object of this experiment was to reduce the ketone group of a cycloalkane into an alcohol group. This reduction forms cis and trans isomers and the experiment intended to determine which was more favorable. Analysis The object of this experiment was to reduce the ketone group of 2-methylcyclohexanone to form 2-methylcyclohexanol (see figure 1 below). Infrared spectroscopy, an important analytical technique, was introduced to examine the purity of the product. Infrared spectroscopy analyzes a chemical’s transmittance over a […]
