Chemistry I Lab 1 Graphical Analysis of the Density of Sodium Chloride Objective Create a table of volumes and corresponding masses

es for samples of a commercial brand

of table salt, Salt Sense, and sea salt. Then plot the data for each salt on the same graph. Based upon the calculated densities and physical appearances, which form is the densest? Does the Salt Sense live up to its claim that it contains 33% less sodium than regular table salt?

Introduction Sodium chloride, NaCl, can exist as various crystalline structures, depending upon
the experimental conditions under which the crystals were originally formed. One way to distinguish between the different structures is by comparing their densities. A portion of the volume of the solids is due to the air spaces between the individual particles. The more tightly the crystals can pack together, the greater the density of the solid. In this experiment, you will study three forms of sodium chloride; regular table salt, Salt Sense, and sea salt. You will graphically determine the density of each and examine their physical appearances. Which form of sodium chloride has the most uniform crystalline structure?

Pre-Lab Questions 1. If you graph an equation of the form y = mx + b, what do the values of m and b represent? 2. Determine the equation of a line with a slope of 2 and a y-intercept of -1. 3. Graph the following points and determine the equation of the line created. Label the points. Label the x-axis volume in milliliters and the y-axis as mass in grams. a. (2, 3) b. (4, 6) c. (6, 9)

Lab Vocab graduated cylinder a piece of lab equipment typically used to measure the volume of a liquid density a physical property determined by the mass per unit volume of a material best-fit line a model used to determine the equation of a line

Materials Electronic balance

Magnifying lens

graduated cylinder

Table Salt

Sea Salt

Salt Sense

Safety - Goggles are required because you will be handling glassware and chemicals.

Procedure
1. Use a dry, 50 mL graduated cylinder to measure the volumes of 10 mL, 20 mL, 30 mL, 40 mL and 50 mL samples of each salt. Determine the mass of each sample using an electronic balance. 2. Examine the crystals with a hand lens or a low-powered microscope. Sketch the appearance of the crystals and describe their shape 3. Return the dry salts to the proper designated containers. Be careful to avoid contamination of the other types of salt samples!

Data/Observations Volume (ml) of table salt 10 20 30 40 50 Mass (g) Volume (ml) of sea salt 10 20 30 40 50 Mass (g) Mass (g)

Volume (ml) of Salt Sense 10 20 30 40 50 Analysis

1. Prepare a clearly labeled data table of all measured masses and volume values. 2. Manually prepare a graph plotting the masses of each type of salt versus the volumes on one, full-page graph. The controlled (independent) variable is placed on the horizontal (x) axis, and the experimental (dependent) variable is placed on the vertical (y) axis. Make sure you include all components of a clearly labeled graph. Use a different colored pencil/marker to draw the best-fit line for the data from each type of salt. 3. Calculate the slope and y-intercept for the linear relationship, y = mx + b, which describes each best-fit line. See attached sheets for TI-83 instructions for a best fit calculation. Show which data points were selected to find the slope.

Conclusions
1. Based upon the appearances of your sketched crystals, which type would you predict to be the densest? The least dense? Are your assumptions supported by the actual density values calculated from your graph?