Chemistry II Laboratory
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The heat capacity of the calorimeter solution is obtained by multiplying the specific heat
of the solution (3.8 J g-1 C-1 for CuSO4) by the weight of the solution in the calorimeter.
W, the estimated calorimeter cup heat capacity, is 30 J C-1.
Safety Precautions: Safety goggles must be worn in the lab at all times. Any skin
contact by chemicals should be washed immediately.
BEFORE PERFORMING THIS EXPERIMENT.
EACH GROUP WILL NEED A LAPTOP COMPUTER!!
Interfacing the Microlab Software and Hardware
PLEASE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!!
MicroLab Software:
1. Attach the USB cable to your computer. The cable should also be plugged into
the MicroLab Interface. Turn the Microlab Interface on (on/off button is on the
front side of the interface on the right hand side).
2. Your computer (Windows 7 or XP Pro operating system) should recognize the
USB connection as a plug and play device.
3. The MicroLab software is available on the course LMS website. Run the
Microlab Set Up Executable file to run the software on your computer. Follow
the directions of the set up file. Once Set Up is complete a MicroLab shortcut
icon should be on your desktop.
4. If the computer and MicroLab interface are not communicating, for example you
cannot open the program or the program is running in simulation mode, see the
Special Note below.
5. At this point you will need to create an experiment program by selecting certain
sensors and calibrating those sensors as needed.
1. Once the MicroLab window opens then select Sensor so that it is highlighted
blue (shown below).
From the drop down menu, select thermistor. Then click on the CAT-5 A input so that it
is highlighted red as shown above. Make sure your actual Thermistor is plugged into the
same CAT-5 jack on the front panel of the MicroLab interface panel. In the Label
window, type in Temperature. Click next to calibrate.
3. Repeat this measurement for the room temperature beaker of water and then
the warm water (50-60 C) beaker.
4. Once you have all three measurements you must fit a curve to the data. A
Steinhart-Hart Equation or logarithmic curve fit is best for the thermistor
temperature sensor data points. So select the best curve fit.
5. Click on Accept and Save This Calibration and provide a filename for the
calibration when prompted.
6. If asked, the units for temperature you will be using is Celsius (C).
7. Once the calibration is complete then next task is continued construction of
your program. Add a second sensor of time with seconds as the units.
8. Once both sensors are added, you can click and drag each sensor to the graph,
spreadsheet and digital window. The temperature sensor should be on the yaxis and time on the x-axis of the graph. By doing this you can see the change
in temperature real time on the graph and digital window, as well the data will
be recorded to a spreadsheet for later analysis. (See image below.)
9. Click on File on the top toolbar, then click save experiment. Give your
experiment program a name, such as Thermistor. This program will be used
to record calorimetry data needed for the first Chemistry II experiment.
Experimental Procedures:
Part I Calorimetry
Materials:
0.5 M Copper Sulfate
Zinc Powder
150 mL beaker
250 mL beaker
Thermistor.exp Microlab Program
Waste Container
Procedure:
1. Accurately add 50 mL of 0.5 M CuSO4 solution to a clean and dry 150 mL
beaker. Place the 150 mL beaker inside a 400 mL beaker. Assume the density of
the CuSO4 solution to be 1 g/mL and the calorimeter heat capacity to be 30 J/C.
2. Cover the calorimeter with the lid and immerse the tip of the thermistor probe into
the solution but without resting it on the bottom.
3. Weigh 0.5 g of zinc powder on a tared piece of weighing paper. Record the exact
value in your lab notebook.
4. Start the Thermistor.exp program to record temperature and time of the CuSO4
solution in the calorimeter for 2-3 minutes. The system needs to reach
equilibrium.
5. Add the zinc powder to the copper solution. IF any zinc remains attached to the
weighing paper, reweigh the paper and remaining zinc. Record this value.
Calculate by difference the amount of zinc that was added to the calorimeter and
record that value in your lab notebook.
6. Using a glass stir rod, continuously stir the solution and break up any clumps of
material that may form. You may have to break up some of the resulting residue
(copper coated zinc powder) in order to ensure complete reaction.
7. Once the reaction is complete, stop the microlab program. From the resulting
plot, determine the initial and final temperature and calculate H per mole of
zinc.
8. Collect all waste into the waste jar provided.