Short Lab Report #1

SHORT LAB REPORT #1 by: Zach Dykema 3rd Hour, 9-17-09 PROBLEM # 1: I am a scientist that was given a task in identifying the minerals that make up some stones. A gas was created when the stones created little bubbles after getting hydrochloric acid poured on them. I soon figured out that it would help me identify the minerals if I knew what the kind of gas it is. So, I have two things to accomplish: 1) I have to figure out a way to collect the gas after the reaction. 2) I also have to figure out a test that I can perform on the gas to identify what type it is.

APPARATUS:

Stopper that prevents gas escaping

Rubber hose that carries the gas that is attached to end of glass tubing and a syringe.

Syringe that sucks gas into its chamber

Glass tubing that goes through the stopper Knob that keeps gas in and out when turned

Flask with reaction going on

After the reaction has gone for a little bit, we put our apparatus into action. We pulled back the handle on the syringe and sucked the mystery gas into the chamber. Gas was pulled from the flask through the glass tubing, through all of the rubber hose, then into the syringe. We turned the knob when we had enough gas and unhooked the syringe from the hose.

DATA & OBSERVATIONS: Test:

Observations:

Bromothymol Blue

Brom. blue turned yellow after a minute of being exposed to the mystery gas.

Splint with Fire

Instantly after fire was put into the test tube with the mystery gas, it went out.

Our first test was the bromothymol blue test. We researched and figured out that when carbon dioxide is put into a flask with bromothymol blue, the liquid turns yellow. So, we got a flask ready and collected the gas from our apparatus. We shot out the gas from the syringe into the flask, then put a stopper in it. After about a minute of waiting, we held up the flask to the light and saw that the bromothymol blue had turned yellow. Our second test was putting a splint with fire into a test tube filled with the mystery gas. We collected another sample of gas, then shot the gas into the test tube. One of us then put our thumb over it so the gas couldn’t escape. Next, we lit a splint of wood with our bunsen burner. We then carefully plunged the splinter into the test tube full of the mystery gas. Instantly, it went out. This meant that our gas was for sure carbon dioxide.

CONCLUSION: So, our group accomplished the two goals. We made an effective way of collecting our gas, then testing it with a couple of tests to determine the mystery gas was carbon dioxide. Because the bromothymol blue turned yellow when the gas was applied to it, we knew that it was carbon dioxide. But just to make sure, we did another test involving fire. When we stuck our fire in the test tube, it immediately went out. We knew it was carbon dioxide because it “kills” fire, not providing the necessary fuel. So, our conclusion is that when those stones were dumped into some hydrochloric acid, they released bubbles of carbon dioxide.