Santa Monica College Chemistry 11 Qualitative Analysis of Everyday Chemicals Objectives The physical and chemical properties of ten common chemicals will be observed in this experiment Some of these properties will be used to identify five unknowns Everyday chemicals are used for this analysis to emphasize that chemistry is involved in many aspects of our daily lives Background This lab introduces qualitative analysis the area of chemistry concerned with the identification of substances by their physical and chemical properties Identifying unknown substances is an important part of chemistry with applications in fields such as medicine and environmental chemistry Materials can be characterized by observing their physical and chemical properties and or by instrumental methods Since identification of substances by their typical reactions can sometimes be relatively easy quick and inexpensive compared to instrumental methods it is frequently the method of choice In this lab some simple characteristic reactions of ten common everyday chemicals will be observed The common names systematic names and formulae of these chemicals are listed in the table below Common names Photographic fixer Baking soda Washing soda Table salt Sugar Epsom salt Alum Chalk Cornstarch Silica gel sand Systematic names Sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate Sodium bicarbonate Sodium carbonate Sodium chloride Glucopyranosyl fructofuranoside Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate Ammonium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate Calcium carbonate a polymer of glucose Silicon dioxide Formulae Na2S2O3 5H2O NaHCO3 Na2CO3 NaCl C12H22O11 MgSO4 7H2O NH4Al SO4 2 12H2O CaCO3 C6H10O5 x SiO2 The physical and chemical changes that will be used to identify these everyday chemicals are described below Examples and net ionic equations for some of the reactions are also supplied Solubility In general polar solutes dissolve in polar solvents and nonpolar solutes dissolve in nonpolar solvents This phenomenon is commonly described as like dissolves like Water is the most common solvent for inorganic compounds Water is a polar compound and thus readily dissolves polar compounds as well as many ionic compounds Solubility rules in textbooks or handbooks contain general information about the solubility of ionic compounds in water Qualitative Analysis of Everyday Chemicals 1 Santa Monica College Chemistry 11 When substances dissolve in water the process can be exothermic giving off heat and thus making the container warmer or endothermic absorbing heat and thus making the container colder For example the dissolution of Epsom salt is an endothermic reaction H2O MgSO4 7H2O s heat Mg 2 aq SO4 2 aq Precipitation Reactions Some soluble substances form a precipitate with the addition of a precipitating reagent The appearance of the precipitate can provide a clue regarding the identity of a substance For example Epsom salt forms a milky precipitate when it reacts with ammonium hydroxide while alum forms a gelatinous precipitate when it reacts with ammonium hydroxide The net ionic equations for these two reactions are as follows Mg 2 aq 2 OH 1 aq Mg OH 2 s Al 3 aq 3 OH 1 aq Al OH 3 s Formation of a precipitate is often used to confirm the presence of specific ions in solution For example to confirm the presence of chloride ions silver ions are added to form silver chloride precipitate Acidity and Basicity Substances that are acids produce an excess of hydrogen ions in water resulting in a solution pH less than seven Substances that are bases produce an excess of hydroxide ions in water resulting in a solution pH greater than seven The pH of solutions can be estimated using different indicators An indicator is a weak organic acid which changes color depending on ts pH An indicator that can measure large range of pH is called a universal indicator Acid Base Reactions Some of the household chemicals in this experiment are weak bases that contain carbonate or bicarbonate ions These weak bases will react readily with acids such as acetic or hydrochloric acid producing carbon dioxide gas CO3 2 aq 2 H 1 aq CO2 g H2O l HCO3 1 aq H 1 aq CO2 g H2O l Electrical Conductivity Substances that produce ions in solution are called electrolytes The ions in solution conduct electric current because they are charged particles that are free to move about in the solution Strong electrolytes dissociate completely into ions and thus carry relatively large currents Strong electrolytes include soluble ionic compounds and strong acids For example table salt is a strong electrolyte dissociates completely NaCl s Na 1 aq Cl 1 aq Qualitative Analysis of Everyday Chemicals 2 Santa Monica College Chemistry 11 Oxidation Reduction Reactions Oxidation reduction reactions involve the transfer of electrons from an atom of one reagent to an atom of another reagent The reagent that loses the electrons is called the reducing agent and the one that gains electrons is called the oxidizing agent For example photographic fixer turns brown iodine I2 solution colorless because the iodine gains electrons and becomes colorless iodide I 1 ions while the sulfur in the S2O3 2 loses electrons and becomes S4O6 2 I2 aq 2 S2O3 2 aq 2 I 1 aq S4O6 2 aq Starch Iodine Reaction There are some reactions that only apply to one substance or very small groups of substances When these reactions occur they give a unique result and therefore are used to identify specific unknown substances An example is the reaction of starch with iodine When drops of iodine solution are added to starch a characteristic blue black complex is produced This reaction is often used to confirm the presence of iodine Procedure Safety Even though this lab deals with everyday chemicals some of the substances are hazardous so never taste or touch any chemicals in the lab Handle all solid chemicals with spatulas or spoons and never use your finger to stopper test tubes Chemicals and Equipment Chemicals Everyday chemicals 1 0 M NH4OH 1 0 M HC2H3O2 I2 solution Equipment 10 large or medium test tubes test tube rack stirring rod universal indicator paper and spot plates obtain from the stockroom Step 1 Determining the Solubility of Everyday Chemicals in Water Use the following steps to determine the solubility of each chemical in water a Use your spatula or spoon to obtain a very small amount a half a pea size or less of each of the everyday chemicals and put each in separate large test tubes b Add about 10 mL of water to each test tube and mix well c Record