Sample Report

Name: Dr. Jordan Date: September 5, 2008

Identifying White Powder Lab Report Purpose To identify three white powders. We know that we have aspirin, bufferin and alkaseltzer, but we don’t know which is which. Theory Add a short paragraph about pH and buffers. We noticed that all the medicines contained acids, bases or buffers. We thought that we might be able to distinguish them by pH. We will also think about stomach chemistry with medicines that are used for stomach ailments. Procedure 1. Mixed powder with water. 2. Recorded observations. 3. Tested pH. Data Tables Table I. Results for pH and observations of white powder Substance A B C Discussion

Observations

pH

We expected the pH of ______________ to be more _________ because it contains ________. Perhaps we need to learn more about strengths of acids and bases. We weren’t always sure how to read the pH paper. Should we read it wet or dry? What if there are two areas of color. Conclusion We thought that substance A was ___________________ because we observed that it _______________ and the pH was _____________, which is consistent with it containing the ingredients ____________________, because those ingredients have ___ properties. Do all three substances.