Taylor Schermer

Steve Smith
Chemistry
September 21, 2019
Determining the Percent Composition of a Mixture Lab
Methods:
Our group chose to take on the challenge mixture. We started off the lab by determining
the chemical and physical properties of each of the substances in our mixture.
Chemical Properties Physical Properties

Iron Filings (iron) Very reactive metal, reacts Magnetic, dense, high
with oxygen to create rust, melting point, insoluble in
dissolves in most acids both ethanol and water

Peppercorn Low density, large surface

area, insoluble in both
ethanol and water

Benzoic Acid Reacts with sodium Soluble in water and ethanol,

hydroxide to make sodium melting point: 122 °C
benzoate (food preservative),

Silicon Dioxide (sand) Not very reactive, high Melting point: 1600 °C,
dielectric strength (insulating insoluble in water and acid,
strength) soluble in hydrofluoric acid

Sodium Chloride (salt) Soluble in polar solvents Insoluble in ethanol, soluble

in water, melting point: 801
°C
The Plan:
Iron filings are magnetic (physical property), so we are going to use a magnet to remove
them from the mixture. The peppercorns are large (physical property), so we are going to use
tweezers to pick them out. The benzoic acid is soluble in ethanol (physical property) but silicon
dioxide and sodium chloride are not, so we are going to put the mixture into ethanol then filter
out the silicon dioxide and sodium chloride. We will let the ethanol evaporate so all we are left
with is benzoic acid. Finally, to separate the sodium chloride from the sodium chloride we will
pour the rest of the mixture into water. The sodium chloride is soluble in water (chemical and
physical property). We will then filter out the silicon dioxide and let the water evaporate.

Process:
To start this lab we collected the materials that we would need initially; this consisted of
a beaker, that we will refer to as beaker one, and a scoopula to collect our mixture. We then
weighed beaker one on a scale that calculates mass in grams. We then added 10 grams of the
challenge mixture into beaker 1.
 Our initial plan was to pick out the peppercorns but due to the fact that the tweezers had
been magnetized, the iron filings had to be extracted first. We went about this by first taking a
magnet and weighing it. We also weighed a weighing tray that we would later put the iron filing
covered magnet in. This tray is labeled as weighing tray 1. Then using tweezers we lowered the
magnet into the mixture and swirled it around until the surface of the magnet was coated in iron
filings (this is where we encountered our first and main issue). The magnetism at this range was
too strong that when the magnet attracted the iron it was picking up the sodium chloride along
the way. We solved this problem by brushing over the iron with a wooden stirring stick. This was
enough force to knock the sodium chloride off the magnet but keep the iron filings on. We then
went over the mixture many more times to get the maximum amount of filings out, mixing it as
we did so. We also took the magnetized tweezers and utilized them to get the final iron filings
out of the mixture. We scraped them onto the magnet. We then weighed the magnet, tray, and
iron filings and subtracted the weight of the magnet and tray 1. This gave us our iron filing
weight.
We then moved onto possibly the easiest substance to extract, due to their physical size,
the peppercorns. We grabbed a new weighing tray, weighing tray 2, and tweezers. We took the
mass of the second weighing tray. Using the tweezers, we picked out the peppercorn and put
them in weighing tray 2. After all the peppercorn was out of the mixture, we took the mass of
weighing tray 2 with the peppercorns. Finally, we subtracted the mass of weighing tray 2 from
the total mass of the weighing tray and the peppercorns to find the mass of just the
peppercorns.
Now that we have separated the peppercorns and the iron filings from the mixture we
are left with sodium chloride (salt), silicon dioxide (sand), and benzoic acid. Sodium chloride and
benzoic acid are both soluble in water which would help to remove the sand, but then we would
have to wait until all the water evaporated to separate the benzoic acid and salt. Fortunately, out
of the three substances we had only one that was soluble in ethanol, benzoic acid. We grabbed
a new beaker, a stirring stick, and a piece of filter paper. We took the mass of the second
beaker, we will call it beaker 2. Then we went to the fume hood, to avoid inhalation of ethanol.
We grabbed the ethanol and poured 60 ml into beaker 2. Then we poured beaker 1 into beaker
2. We used a stirring stick to dissolve the benzoic acid into the ethanol. We stirred for
approximately two minutes. Then we created a funnel with the tissue paper over beaker 1. We
poured beaker 2 back into beaker 1 through the filter. We then added five more mL of ethanol
over the sodium chloride and sodium chloride on the filter to ensure that benzoic acid was
dissolved and in beaker 1. We scraped the filter and put the silicon dioxide and the sodium
chloride back into beaker two. We waited for the ethanol to evaporate, but we have to put it into
a container to bring back to school. Before we put it in the container, we took the mass of the
container, so we could subtract it from the final weight to find the weight of the benzoic acid.
Next, we decided to separate the silicon dioxide from the sodium chloride. We did this by
adding the mixture to water because sodium chloride is soluble in water. We decided to take
this approach since we were unable to differentiate between the sizes of the two particles.
Putting the two in the water changed the size of the sodium chloride making it much smaller
than the sand. We then filtered the silicone dioxide out of the sodium chloride saturated water
and into beaker two. Then put silicone dioxide into the warming oven to evaporate the axes
water. We took the weight of the now dry silicone dioxide.
We then moved on the separating sodium chloride from the H​2​O. We went about this by
placing beaker three on a hot plate and heating it to a boil. This process caused the H​2​O to
evaporate leaving the sodium chloride in beaker three. We then measured the contents of
beaker three and subtracted the weight of the beaker.

Results:
Mass Percent Composition

Challenge Mixture 10.02 g 100 %

Mixture and beaker 1 99.04 g

Beaker 1 89.02 g

Iron Filings 1.71 g 17.07%

Magnet, weighing tray, and 15.1

iron filings

Magnet 9.4 g

Weighting tray 1 3.99 g

Peppercorns 1.05 g 10.48%

2nd weighing tray and 4.19 g

peppercorns

Weighing tray 2 3.14 g

Silicon Dioxide 3.07 g 30.64%

Silicon Dioxide and beaker 2 93.69 g

Beaker 2 90.62 g

Sodium Chloride 4.12 g 41.12%

Sodium Chloride and beaker 107.18 g

3

Beaker 3 103.06 g

Benzoic Acid .15 g 1.49 %

Container 1 12.7 g
Mixture:
Mass of mixture = mass of mixture and beaker 1 - mass of beaker 1
10.02 g/mass of mixture = 99.04 g - 89.02 g
Iron Filings:
Mass of iron filings = mass of magnet, weighing tray, and iron filings - mass of magnet -
mass of 1st weighing tray
1.71 g/ mass of iron filings = 15.1 g - 9.4 g - 3.44 g
% Iron in mixture: 1.71 g iron/10.02g mixture=0.1707 *100 = 17.07% iron
Peppercorn:
Mass of peppercorns = mass of 2nd weighing tray and peppercorns - mass of 2nd
weighing tray
1.05 g/mass of peppercorns = 4.19 g - 3.14 g
% Peppercorn in mixture: 1.05 g peppercorn/10.02g mixture=0.1048 *100 = 10.48%
peppercorn
Silicon Dioxide (sand):
Mass of sodium chloride = mass of sodium chloride and beaker 2 - mass of beaker 2
3.07 g/ mass of sodium chloride = 93.69 g - 90.62 g
% Silicon Dioxide in mixture: 3.07 g silicon dioxide/10.02g mixture=0.3064*100 =
30.64% silicon dioxide
Sodium Chloride (salt):
Mass of sodium chloride = mass of sodium chloride and beaker 3 - mass of beaker 3
4.12 g/ mass of sodium chloride = 107.18 g -103.06 g
% Sodium Chloride in mixture: 4.12 g sodium chloride/10.02g mixture=0.4112 *100 =
41.12% sodium chloride
Benzoic Acid :
Mass of benzoic acid = mass of benzoic acid and container 1 - mass of container
.15 g/mass of benzoic acid = 12.85 g - 12.7 g
% Benzoic Acid in mixture: 0.15 g benzoic acid/10.02g mixture=0.0149 *100 =
01.49% benzoic acid

Conclusion
Answer the following questions in organized paragraphs.
Our task was to isolate and reclaim all the original components of a mixture and take
their mass to determine the percent composition each component comprised of from the
mixture. My group used the magnetism property in the iron filings to separate them from the
mixture; then we used the physical size of the peppercorns to tweeze them out. We utilized the
solubility of benzoic acid and the insolubility of silicon dioxide and sodium chloride in ethanol to
isolate the benzoic acid. We finished separating the mixture by utilizing the solubility of sodium
chloride and insolubility of silicon dioxide in water to separate the final two components in the
mixture.
Our methods for separating the mixture were varied in their speed, difficulty, and
accuracy. Unlike removing the peppercorns with tweezer which was easy, precise, and fast
because of their size, removing the iron filings from the mixture was difficult because the sand
got stuck between the magnet and iron filings; the preciseness of the mass may have been
tampered with because of the pull the magnet had on the scale. The evaporation of water and
ethanol were both slow processes and the changing of containers and boiling of water may
have caused some loss of volume which would affect the preciseness of the mass. The
separation of silicon dioxide was fairly simple but took some time because we had to dry it.
The sum of the recovered masses, 10.1 g, is a little over the sum of our initial mixture,
10.02 g, by .08 grams. We may have acquired some mass from the utilization of tap water. To
separate the sodium chloride from the silicon dioxide we dissolved the sodium chloride into tap
water. We then allowed it to evaporate. The problem with using tap water is that it contains
impurities, unlike distilled water. When the water was evaporated the sodium chloride wasn’t the
only thing left in the water, the impurities were left behind. Next time, utilizing distilled water
would be more beneficial because it would cancel the possibility of contamination.
The percent composition of our mixture compared fairly closely to the percent
composition of our instructor. The percent composition of our iron filings was 17.07%, and the
instructor's percent composition of iron filings was 20%. There is a difference of 3%, and this
may be a result of lack preciseness or weighing the magnet may have altered the way the scale
operated. The percent composition of our peppercorns was 10.48%, and the instructor's percent
composition of the peppercorns was 10%. Our results only differed by .48% so we were right on
with the instructors. The percent composition of our benzoic acid was 1.49%, and the
instructor's percent composition of benzoic acid was 5%. Our results differed by 3.15%. We may
have loss mass when we change containers. The percent composition of our sodium chloride
was 41.12%, and the instructor's percent composition of iron filings was 35%. The difference in
results was 6.12%. This may have resulted from water splashing out of our beaker when boiling.
Finally, the percent composition of our silicon dioxide was 30.64%, and the instructor's percent
composition of silicon dioxide was 30%. The difference was .64%. We were pretty accurate.
If I were to improve the methods we used in this lab I would first start by wrapping the
magnet in plastic wrap. I believe that the actual mass of the magnet was different than the mass
we recorded because I think the magnetic pull from the magnet may have resulted in inaccurate
results. The most effective and efficient way to solve this problem would be to take the mass of
the plastic wrap and then wrap it around the magnet so instead of weighing the iron filings and
the magnet together, we are weighing the plastic wrap, which doesn’t have a magnetic field,
and the iron filings together. I think another way to improve our methods would be to allow the
water and ethanol to evaporate naturally and to keep them in their original containers. This
would contain the most volume of each resulting in the most accurate results. When we boiled
the water some water jumped out of the container and changing ethanol containers resulted in
some of the solution spilling both causing loss of volume. Also as stated as before, utilized
distilled water instead of tap water would help our results be more accurate because it would
lower the possibility of contamination.

Questions for Further Thought

1. If all the students in the class received a sample of the same mixture each team would
not obtain the same result for the percent composition because the components of the
mixture aren’t evenly distributed within the mixture. The components of the mixture are
different shapes, sizes, and densities which means they won’t evenly distribute within the
volume of the container. They also won’t end up with the same results because of
human error. Depending on the process certain groups could lose more mass of certain
components than others.
2. If the purpose of the experiment was to determine the percent composition of elements
in the same compound each team should obtain the same results for its percent
composition because the compound’s characteristics and identification is determined by
the ratio/ percentage of elements in the compound. For example, if we were to take the
percent composition of H​2​O, we would be looking at the percent of oxygen and the
percent of hydrogen in the water. If the percents were to change the compound would
change.
3. Single stream recycling is characterized as a type of recycling where all recyclables are
collected together and the person depositing the recycling doesn’t have to sort the
recycling themselves. Citizens of Durango and La Plata County both utilize single-stream
recycling which is the most convenient type of recycling. The Phoenix Recycling Center
sorts single stream, unlike the City of Durango which sends their single stream to be
sorted in Albuquerque.
4. Recycling centers use several methods to mechanically separate components of the
recycling stream. Many recycling centers use a strong magnet to sort steel out of the
recycling stream because it is magnetic. To sort out aluminium many facilities utilize an
eddy current separator, which utilizes a magnetic field to, “[induce] electrons in aluminum
to create a magnetic field of their own,” (Peek), which causes the aluminum to jump off
the main conveyor belt. Another process that many recycling centers utilize to sort their
single stream is a force of upward air to sort glass away from cans, paper, plastic, etc.
These are just a few of the many mechanisms recycling centers use to effectively sort
their recycling.
5.
a. In the situation where, “sand was captured in filter paper but the filter paper was
not completely dry when it was weighed the second time,” the source of error lies
within the wet filter paper. When taking the mass you are not only taking the
mass of the sand and the filter paper, but now you are also taking the mass of
the liquid captured by the filter paper. This would make your results higher than
they actually are. To correct this error you could allow the filter paper to
completely dry before weighing it to get more accurate results.
b. In the situation where, “the magnet was not wrapped in plastic wrap and some
iron filings stayed attached to the magnet,” the source of error was not wrapping
the magnet in plastic wrap. This will cause inaccuracy within the results because
it will be impossible to remove all the iron filings from the magnet. The mass will
be lower than if you had wrapped the magnet in plastic wrap. Correcting this error
is difficult, it would be easier to start the lab over and wrap the magnet with
 plastic wrap. As long as there’s a barrier between the magnet and the iron filings
the results will be accurate. The barrier should not be attracted to the magnet so
that it can be removed from it easily.
c. The source of error in the situation of, “a student forgot to weigh the watch glass
before pouring a solution on it to evaporate,” would be not weighing the watch
glass because when you take the final mass it will be the mass of the watch glass
plus the leftovers from the solution. The goal of the lab is to find the mass of just
the components, when taking the mass of the containers the solutions are put
into is forgotten, calculating the actual mass is difficult. To correct this error you
can take the mass of the container plus the components then wash the watch
glass. Once it’s dry take the mass. I would suggest taking preventative measures
instead, by weighing all the tools, which will give the most accurate results.
d. In the situation of, “when boiling off water from the solution of alum (or salt) some
of the solution spattered out of the beaker,” the source of error was the solution
splattering out of the beaker. This would cause loss of solution and therefore loss
of components because the components are dissolved within the solution, which
causes loss of accuracy when taking the mass. To prevent this error, instead of
boiling off the water from the solution, the group could allow it to naturally
evaporate. This does consume more time but it allows for more accurate results.
Or if time is an issue the group can use less water so it doesn’t splatter as high
and go out of the container. The group could also use a larger container so the
solution is more spread out and can’t splatter as high.
e. The source of error in the situation of, “using tap water instead of distilled water
to dissolve the soluble substance prior to boiling it and letting it evaporate,” is in
using tap water. Tap water is not pure H​2​O and contains some impurities, unlike
distilled water. When boiling off the solution the group is left with more than just
the components of the original mixture. The impurities from the tap water will be
included when you take the weight of the component which will give you a higher
weight. To prevent this from happening, only use distilled water when trying to
dissolve a soluble.

Sources:

Peek, Katie. “How It Works: Inside The Machine That Separates Your Recyclables.” ​Popular

Science,​ Popular Science, 28 Aug. 2013,

www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-07/how-it-works-recycling-machines-separate-ju

nk-type/.