Melting Point

Determination
By: Jacey Wells & Dylan Fezell
Period 4
Due: 3/30/16
Abstract: The main purpose of this laboratory exercise was to use a melting
device to determine the Melting point of an unknown solid. This was done by
crushing the solid with a mortar and pestle and then putting it in a capillary tube.
The capillary was then put in a melting apparatus. The temperature was recorded
when the first liquid droplet appeared and when the last solid particle turned to
liquid. Using the temperatures collected from the trials the average melting point
was calculated. The average melting point of the unknown solid ,Salicylic Acid,
was 158.5. The absolute error is 0.5 and the percent error is 0.3%.

Discussion: From this lab, it is firstly important to determine what exactly is the
melting point of a solid. Melting Point can be defined as the point at which a solid
turns to a liquid. This is due to the kinetic energy contained within the solid
growing greater than in intermolecular forces that hold the solid together. This
temperature in which the melting occurs, or melting point, is a definite value in
crystalline solids that does not change if the amount of the solid changes.
Therefore, the melting point is a value varies from solid to solid and is a value
that can identify an unknown solid being tested. The point at which the first
crystal of the unknown solid begins to melt and the point at which the last crystal
melts will be used to calculate the average melting point for this lab. The melting
device used in this lab is the Vernier Melting station along with the LoggerPro
program on the computer.
In addition, there is also a relationship between the melting point of a solid
and the purity of that solid. This relationship states that the impurities in a solid
will lower its melting point and broaden the range between first and last points
of melting. This impurity weakens the intermolecular forces causing them to
become overcome by the kinetic energy much easier and thus melt at a lower
temperature. At the end of this lab, the purity of the unknown solid will be
examined when comparing it to the true value for the melting point of the solid.
Sources: Holt Textbook,
http://www.chm.uri.edu/mmcgresor/chem228/use_of_melting_point_apparatus.pd
f
Objectives: In this experiment you will
1. Determine the melting point, identify and assess the purity of an
unknown organic solid.
Materials:
Vernier Melt Station/Lab Pro/Laptop/Logger Pro
Centigram Balance
Weigh Boats
Mortar & Pestle
Forceps
Microscope cover glasses
Capillary Tubes
Goggles
Unknown Organic Solid
Acetone

Safety: Wear safety goggles at all time. Handle the microscope cover glasses with
care and return them to their case clean. Salicylic acid, the unknown element,
can cause irritation of the skin or eyes, nausea, and vomiting.

Procedure:
1. Obtain approximately 0.01 g of the chemical to be tested in a plastic
tray. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the sample into a fine powder.
2. It is suggested that a rough and quick trial run is completed to get the
approximate melting point for your unknown. Once a rough melting point
is determined, allow the machine to cool to at least 15 below the bottom
temperature of the rough melting point.
3. After the rough trial, head the machine very slowly through the
melting point. The slower it heats through the melting point, the more
accurate the melting point.
4. Record the temperature at which the first liquid droplets appear.
5. Record the temperature at which the last solid particle liquefies.
6. Average the two temperatures to get the experimental melting point
of the solid.
Vernier Melt Station Direction
1. Obtain four capillary tubes
2. Tap the end of a capillary tube into the pile of compound. I very the
capillary and tap so that the solid falls to the sealed end. Continue this until
3-4 mm of chemical are packed into the sealed end of the capillary tube.
3. Turn on the laptop and open LoggerPro. Plug in the power supply to
LoggerPro. Plug the Melt Station into the LapPro. Plug the power supply to
the Melt Station. Attach the LapProto the laptop via USB cable. LoggePro
should automatically recognize that the Melt Station is connected.
4. Place the capillary tube into one of the three slots in the top of the
apparatus.
5. Click Collect on the LoggerProto begin data collection. Turn the knob
on the apparatus to Rapid Heat to obtain a rough melting point range.
6. Turn the knob back to the fan/cooling setting to cool for the first trial
7. Once the apparatus has cooled, turn the knob to the lower end of the
rough Melting point range. The apparatus will heat approximately 1.5
CELSIUS/min through the melting range.
8. Run three trials after the rough and quick trial run.
Cleanup:
Recycling the glass plates is absolutely necessary. Wipe off as much
of the compound as possible with a paper towel. Rinse the glass plates with
acetone three times. Allow them to dry, and return them to their container.
Capillary tubes can be thrown away in the red can.

Data:
Melting Point Temperatures for unknown solid #6 in order to calculate an
average melting point

Trial 1st Point of Melting () Last Point of Melting ()

Rough 158.4

1 152.1 161.6

2 154.4 161.8

3 158.3 162.4

*Rough trial was only used for cooling purposes.

Analysis/Calculations/Error:
Calculations
Average melting point temperature for trials 1-3
Trial 1
152.1 + 161.6 = 213.7
313.7 / 2 = 156.9
Trial 2
154.4 + 161.8 = 316.2
316.2 / 2 = 158.1
Trial 3
158.3 + 162.4 =320.7
320.7 / 2 = 160.4

Overall average melting point

156.9 + 158.1 + 160.4 = 475.4

475.4 / 3 = 158.5

Error
Xe = 158.5 Xt = 159.0
Absolute Error:
Ea= |Xt-Xe|
Ea= |159.0-158.5|
Ea=0.5
Percent Error:
E%= Ea/Xt x 100%
E%=0.5/159.0 x 100%
E%=0.3%

Conclusion: After finding the average experimental melting point of the

unknown #6 to be 158.5, we predicted the unknown solid to be Salicylic acid.
When comparing the melting point of Salicylic acid of 159.0 to the
experimentally determined 158.5, we calculated a 0.5 absolute error and a
0.3% error.
The error in this lab, while minimal, is most likely due to the chemical
impurities of the substance. The impurity of the chemical is method error. The
impurity causes the melting point to be lower, which explains why the
experimental value is 0.5 less than the true value of 159.0. Since the
difference is small, it can also be stated that the experimental Salicylic acid that
we used had a very small impurity level.
Overall, we were very pleased with the end results of the lab. In order to
improve the lab results, we could have ran more trials. In order to fully solidify
the results. From the lab, we learned the affect that impurities have on solids in
terms of melting point, as they reduce the melting point of a substance. Also, we
learned that even the smallest amount of impurity can lower the melting point.
This lab could be applied to a job such as a chemical engineer. It is important for
chemical engineers to identify solids they are working with and test for
impurities before the raw materials are further manufactured. Both of these can
be found through melting point of a solid substance.