Empirical Formula Of Copper Chloride Lab Report

The objectives of this experiment were to use knowledge of chemical formulas and chemical nomenclature to experimentally determine the empirical formula of copper chloride. Common laboratory techniques were used to conduct a reaction between copper chloride and solid aluminum in order to get rid of the water of hydration. The amount of water of hydration in the sample of copper chloride hydrate was calculated by measuring the mass before and after heating the sample. Afterwards, an oxidation-reduction reaction was conducted, resulting in elemental copper. Using the Law of Definite Proportions, the mass of this product was used to determine the number of moles of copper and chlorine in the sample, which led to being able to determine the

As the water was added to the heated sample, the solid copper chloride began to dissolve into a pretty blue-green solution, as a result of the compound breaking apart into individual Cu2+ and Cl- ions. When the water was first mixed with the copper chloride, it dissolved the solid pretty slowly, turning into a sort of mush at first. However, eventually, the water dissolved all of the solid copper chloride and the solution was homogenous. Since the compound just changed physical form, from solid to liquid, this change was purely physical. Just as in the first part of the experiment, the chemical character of the compound was not altered, so the compound did not experience a chemical change. The dissolution of the salt could be reversed by evaporating the water as shown in part one of the experiment, just as evaporating the water could be reversed by adding water as demonstrated in part two of the

As soon as the wire was submerged into the solution, the aluminum atoms and the copper (II) ions underwent a reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction, meaning aluminum was oxidized and donated its electrons to the copper ions, which were reduced. As a result, solid copper began to form on the surface of the aluminum wire, giving the wire a brown-orange color that resembled rust. The wire had to be regularly shaken in order to remove the solid copper particles and thereby expose more of the aluminum wire to react with the surrounding solution. As the reaction progressed, the liquid copper chloride solution slowly began to lose its color and turn clear. This was a chemical reaction, as seen by the bubbles formed with the wire was added, meaning gas was released when aluminum was oxidized and copper was reduced, but it also gave rise to physical changes, such as the change in color of the solution from blue-green to rusty orange to clear. The glass rod was used instead of the metal spatula because the metal from the spatula could have reacted with the copper ions in place of the aluminum wire, which would have interfered with the calculations of the solid copper’s