SHORT LAB REPORT #1

by: Zach Dykema

3rd Hour, 9-17-09

PROBLEM # 1:

I am a scientist that was given a task in identifying the minerals that make up some

stones. A gas was created when the stones created little bubbles after getting hydrochloric acid

poured on them. I soon figured out that it would help me identify the minerals if I knew what the

kind of gas it is. So, I have two things to accomplish: 1) I have to figure out a way to collect the

gas after the reaction. 2) I also have to figure out a test that I can perform on the gas to identify

what type it is.

APPARATUS:
Rubber hose that carries the gas that is
attached to end of glass tubing and a syringe.

Syringe that sucks gas

Glass tubing that goes into its chamber

Stopper that prevents through the stopper

gas escaping
Knob that keeps gas in
and out when turned

Flask with reaction going on

After the reaction has gone for a little bit, we put our apparatus into action. We pulled

back the handle on the syringe and sucked the mystery gas into the chamber. Gas was pulled

from the flask through the glass tubing, through all of the rubber hose, then into the syringe. We

turned the knob when we had enough gas and unhooked the syringe from the hose.
DATA & OBSERVATIONS:

Test: Observations:

Brom. blue turned yellow after a minute of

Bromothymol Blue
being exposed to the mystery gas.

Instantly after fire was put into the test

Splint with Fire
tube with the mystery gas, it went out.

Our first test was the bromothymol blue test. We researched and figured out that when

carbon dioxide is put into a flask with bromothymol blue, the liquid turns yellow. So, we got a

flask ready and collected the gas from our apparatus. We shot out the gas from the syringe into

the flask, then put a stopper in it. After about a minute of waiting, we held up the flask to the

light and saw that the bromothymol blue had turned yellow.

Our second test was putting a splint with fire into a test tube filled with the mystery gas.

We collected another sample of gas, then shot the gas into the test tube. One of us then put our

thumb over it so the gas couldn’t escape. Next, we lit a splint of wood with our bunsen burner.

We then carefully plunged the splinter into the test tube full of the mystery gas. Instantly, it went

out. This meant that our gas was for sure carbon dioxide.

CONCLUSION:

So, our group accomplished the two goals. We made an effective way of collecting our

gas, then testing it with a couple of tests to determine the mystery gas was carbon dioxide.

Because the bromothymol blue turned yellow when the gas was applied to it, we knew that it was

carbon dioxide. But just to make sure, we did another test involving fire. When we stuck our fire

in the test tube, it immediately went out. We knew it was carbon dioxide because it “kills” fire,

not providing the necessary fuel. So, our conclusion is that when those stones were dumped into

some hydrochloric acid, they released bubbles of carbon dioxide.