Reaction of Magnesium with Hydrochloric Acid
To develop a method for measuring the volume of gas generated in a reaction between Mg and HCl.
To develop a relationship between the mass of magnesium reacted and the volume of hydrogen generated.
To acquire an understanding of limiting reactants.
|plastic bin||rubber hose||glass bend||1.0 M HCl|
|100 mL graduated cylinder||test tube (25 x 200 mm)||5.00 mL pipet||0.5 g Mg ribbon|
|ringstand and clamp||1-hole rubber stopper||pipet filler||tap water|
Avoid skin contact with hydrochloric acid. Wear goggles at all times. Rinse skin thoroughly if contact is made. Hydrogen gas is flammable.
You will work in groups of 3-4, assigned at random or by the professor. One member of the group will be assigned as a project manager; one as a computer operator; one or two as a laboratory technician. See the group work page for more information.
Design an apparatus that will enable you to collect and measure the volume of hydrogen gas generated using only materials found in the list above. To facilitate speedy collection of data, your group may choose to set up two separate sets of equipment. Check your system(s) for leaks or cracks. React eight different masses of magnesium in the range of 0.01 g to 0.10 g with exactly 5.00 mL of 1.0 M HCl in eight separate trials. To the extent possible, try to spread the masses of magnesium evenly over the entire range 0.01 g to 0.1 g. Continue collecting the hydrogen gas until there is no more than one bubble produced per minute. Repeat suspicious trials. Record the mass of Mg used (use an analytical balance) and the volume of hydrogen gas generated in each trial. For each trial, make a note if any magnesium metal remains.
Group laboratory report guidelines at http://webs.anokaramsey.edu/chemistry/Chem1061/Labs/Reports/GroupReports.htm. You may choose to submit this report by paper or by email (using a filename convention of lastname1_lastname2_etc_lab5 and a subject line in your email of "Chem 1061 Lab: Limiting Reactant Lab").