POLITÉCNICO COLOMBIANO JAIME ISAZA CADAVID

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS BÁSICAS, SOCIALES Y HUMANAS

PROGRAM: Tecnología en Química Industrial y de
Laboratorio
COURSE: Organic Chemistry
PRACTICE NAME: Physical Properties: Melting Point of Organic
Compounds
PRACTICE TYPE: Virtual

SOFTWARE AMRITA (ONLINE LABS)

Melting point of an Organic compound

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 Melting Point of an Organic Compound

1. Objective
Our objective is to determine the melting point of an organic compound.

2. The Theory
What is the importance of knowing the melting point of organic compounds?
The melting point is an important physical property of a compound. The melting point can be
used to identify a substance and as an indication of its purity. The melting point of solid is
defined as the temperature at which the solid exists in equilibrium with its liquid under an
external pressure of one atmosphere.

A pure crystalline compound usually possesses a sharp melting point and it melts completely
over a narrow range of temperature of not more that 0.5-1 oC. The presence of even small
amount of impurities usually produces a depression in the freezing points and shows a marked
increase in the width of the melting point range. The melting point range of > 5 oC indicates that
the substance is impure. For a material whose identity is known, an estimate of degree of purity
can be made by comparing its melting point with that of a pure sample.

What are the factors that affect the melting point?

1. Size of the molecule

Melting point is also used for the identification and characterisation of a compound. If the melting
point of two pure samples shows a clear difference in melting points, it indicates that the two
compounds must have different structural arrangements. or they must have different
arrangements of atoms or configurations. If two materials have the same melting point, then they
may (not necessarily) have the same structure.

Consider the isomers n-butanol and t-butanol. Both have the same molecular formula (C 4 H10O),
but differ in their structure.

2. Force of attraction between the molecules

The force of attraction between the molecules affects the melting point of a compound. Stronger
intermolecular interactions result in higher melting points. Ionic compounds usually have high
melting points because the electrostatic forces holding the ions (ion-ion interaction) are much
stronger. In organic compounds the presence of polarity, or especially hydrogen bonding,
generally leads to higher melting point.

Consider the following examples.

The only force of attraction between butane molecules is weak Van der Waals force of attraction,
so it has very low melting point. But in the case of methyl propionate, because of the presence
of polar C – O group, the molecules are held together by dipole-dipole interaction. Therefore, its
melting point is greater than that of butane. In the case of butyric acid, the molecules are held
together by hydrogen bonding, so it has a higher melting point. The melting point of sodium
butanoate is higher than that of butyric acid because the attractive force in sodium butanoate is
strong ionic interation.

3. Melting point of some common organic compounds

Compound Melting Point (oC) Compound Melting Point (oC)
Phenol 42 α-Naphthylamine 50
α-Naphthol 96 Acetamide 82
β-Naphthol 123 Benzamide 128
Oxalic Acid 101 Urea 132
Benzoic Acid 122 Fructose 103
Cinnamic Acid 133 Glucose 146
p-Toludine 43 Sucrose 186
Naththalene 80 Acetanilide 114.3
4. Learning outcomes
 Students understand the term ‘melting point’ through this experiment.
 Students will able to do the experiment in the real lab quicker and more accurately after they
understand the steps.
 Students understand that the melting point of a solid is a constant value.

5. Materials Required

6. The Procedure (Real lab procedure)

 First powder the crystalline substance.
 Take a capillary tube and seal one end by heating it.
 Fill the capillary tube with the substance. To fill the tube, make a heap of the powdered
substance on the porous plate. Push one end of the capillary tube into the heap. Some of the
substance will enter the capillary tube.
  Now tap the sealed end of the capillary tube on the porous plate gently. Fill the capillary tube
upto 2-3 mm.
 Attach the capillary tube to a thermometer using a thread.
 Take liquid paraffin in a beaker and place it over a piece of wire gauze placed over a tripod
stand.
 Clamp the thermometer carrying the test tube to an iron stand and immerse them in the bath
of liquid paraffin. The surface tension of the bath liquid is sufficient to hold the capillary tube in
position.
 Heat the beaker slowly while constantly stirring the contents using a stirrer to maintain a
uniform temperature throughout.
 When the temperature is within 15o of the melting point of the pure substance, the flame is
reduced. Then the temperature rises slowly.
 Note the temperature (t1) when the substance starts melting.
 Again note the temperature (t2) when the substance has completely melted.
 The average of the two readings gives the correct melting point of the substance.

Simulator Procedure (as performed through the Online Labs)

 You can select the compound from the ‘Select the compound’ drop down list.
 To start the experiment, click on the 'Start' button. You can also see the zoomed view of the
compound and the thermometer.
 Now turn on the burner by clicking on the ‘Knob’ of the burner.
 The temperature begins to rise.
 Note the temperature ‘t1’ at which the compound starts melting.
 Similarly note the temperature ‘t2’ at which the compound has completely melted.
 Enter the values in the respective text boxes.
 The melting point of the compound is shown in the corresponding text box.
 You can select the actual compound from the ‘Select the actual compound’ drop down list.
 You can verify your result by clicking on the ‘Show chart’ button.
 To redo the experiment, click on the ‘Reset’ button.

7. Observations
Record your observations in the table given below.
Note the temperature when the substance; Melting point of the given substance
Starts melting t1(0C) Has completely melted t2 (0C) (t1 + t2 / 2) (oC)
 Melting Point Melting Point Melting Point
Compound Melting Point (%)
Theoretical (oC) Experimental (oC) Corrected(oC)
Phenol 42
α-Naphthol 96
β-Naphthol 123
Oxalic Acid 101
Benzoic Acid 122
Cinnamic Acid 133
p-Toludine 43
Naththalene 80
α-Naphthylamine 50
Acetamide 82
Benzamide 128
Urea 132
Fructose 103
Glucose 146
Sucrose 186
Acetanilide 114.3

Inference
Melting point of the given substance = ... oC

Precautions
 Use dry and powdered sample for the determination of melting point.
 Keep the lower end of the capillary tube and the thermometer at the same level.
 Packing of the powder should be uniform without any large air gaps in between the solid
particles.

8. Important Words
Characterisation: a description of the defining qualities of an object.
Configuration: the manner in which objects are arranged
Crystalline: a solid formed of crystals. Crystals have a symmetrical structure across
three dimensions.
Depression: a lowering or reduction of something.
Dipole: a molecule having two opposite electrically charged poles.
(Di= two. Examples; dicotyledon, dioxide, diametrically).
Equilibrium: where all opposing forces are equal producing a state of balance and
 stability. (Equi- = equal, e.g. equidistant, equipoise).
Estimate: (both a verb and a noun) – an approximate evaluation or to form an
opinion based on limited evidence.
External: – of or relating to the outside.
Impure: being unclean or a mixture of substances.
Interaction: the way substances behave when they react with each other.

9. Resources
Books:
 Laboratory Manual Chemistry for class XI - Published by NCERT

Websites:
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_point
 chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch14/melting.php
 www.brynmawr.edu/chemistry/Chem/mnerzsto/Labs/Forces_and_Factors.pdf
 www.youtube.com/watch
 www.youtube.com/watch
 www.youtube.com/watch

ANNEXED

Página para la Práctica Virtual http://amrita.olabs.edu.in/?

sub=73&brch=7&sim=33&cnt=1&lan=es-ES