Lab report guide:Formation of a Salt Experiment

Lab report guide:Formation of a Salt Experiment

Your report should include the following sections:

1. Aim (5 Marks): What are you trying to achieve in this practical?

The purpose of the lab and/or question to be answered during the lab should be concise and clearly identified and stated.

2. Introduction (25 Marks):
3. Explain what a salt is and the chemistry of salt formation by providing examples- talk about types of chemical reactions that produce salts*. Discuss the type of bonding in salts and their general properties (e.g. solubility, reactions, conductivities, appearance).
4. *Predict the acid and base components that form the following salts: Li₂S, CaCO₃, KNO₃, and BaSO₄ and support your answers with the relevant chemical equations.
5. Briefly, describe and explain the reaction in question- between NaHCO₃ with HCl, and state what the expected products are.
6. Discuss the applications, importance and use of sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO₃).
   1. As ‘baking powder’
   2. As an antacid (more source)
   3. As an agent that elevates low blood pH (in acidosis conditions)- reacts with hydrogen ions to form carbon dioxide and water.
7. Explain what a mole is and its relationship with the stoichiometry of a reaction.

3. Method (10 marks): Give a description of what was done and what was used to carry out the experiment.[unique_solution]

A risk assessment should also be included (better include this as a Table). Do not cut and paste the procedure section from your lab exercise, or do that and slightly change the wording. That is plagiarism. You need to make the instructions your own, and express them in your own way. It should be written in past tense, 3^rd person throughout and should include a list of equipment.

4. Results (15 Marks): Present the raw data along with all the relevant calculations. Show all the relevant data for:

Data/Observations

Make sure you label all figures and tables with appropriate captions (captions go below figures and above tables).

1. Provide a description of the data in the table above; include any relevant observations such as the structure of the solid product as observed under the microscope
2. Determine the number of moles of the NaHCO₃ reactant (limiting reagent) from the mass that you used
3. Determine the number of moles of the solid product that was formed using the mass of product obtained
4. How does 2. compare with 3.?
5. Write a balanced stoichiometric equation of the reaction in question and calculate the theoretical yield of the solid product using the mass of sodium hydrogen carbonate you began with as well as the % yield of product that you achieved

5. Discussion (25 Marks): Discuss your results and explain what they mean; Tip – at least one paragraph for each:
6. Describe the products formed in the reaction and the type of bonding in each case. In particular, focus on the salt (solid product) generated and describe its specific properties such as solubility, conductivity, melting point, etc.- relate to the structure of the solid when examined under the microscope.
7. Discuss whether the number of moles of the solid product calculated in the Results section (3.) agree/disagree with the number of moles of the sodium hydrogen carbonate you started off with (2.) based on the stoichiometry of the balanced equation. Discuss the theoretical yield and % yield of product.
8. Suggest why your answer to the above may be different. As part of your answer suggest (at least) two possible sources of error in this experiment. (Do not include weighing errors.) Indicate whether each error would increase or decrease the experimental value for the ratio of moles of the solid product to the moles NaHCO₃.
9. Describe how the above errors could be addressed if the experiment were to be repeated and any possible improvements going forward.

6. Conclusion (10 Marks): Did you manage to achieve your aim within the practical? Provide a summary of your findings.

Describe how the results answer the experiment question/aim (or not). The summary should describe the information learned about the scientific concept and some future applications to real-life situations. Include a brief overview of the main experimental errors, their possible effects, and ways to reduce errors/improve the experiment.

7. References (5 Marks): – Full reference list in CU Harvard style.

BBC Bites sizes, Chem Libretext, Wikipedia or any blogs which are not credible should NOT be used. Most of the sources should be linked to the Introduction and the Discussion section.

Note that each referenced source will have to be cited both in text and in the References section at the end.

8. Writing Style (5 Marks): Excellent presentation, competently structured, using correct grammar and spelling, clear and easy to use links to supporting evidence. Avoid use of personal pronouns and avoid informal writing- do not insert yourself (first person) or the reader (second person) into the topic at hand. The personal pronouns I, me, my, mine, myself, we, ourselves, you, your, and yourselves should not appear in a formal paper.