University Of Zakho

College of engineering
Petroleum department

Chemistry
Melting Point

Supervisor:
 Mr.Mivan

By Students:
 Ahmed Saadi
 Omed Hussein
 Omer Mustafa
List Of Content :

 Introduction…………………………………………
 Objective…………………………………………….
 Material and Apparatus with sketches………………
 Procedure……………………………………………
 Calculations and result………………………………
 Discussion…………………………………………...
 Conclusion…………………………………………..
 Introduction

The melting point of a substance is the temperature at which

crystalline substances change from a solid to a liquid state. During
the melting process, all of the energy added to a substance is
consumed as heat of fusion, and the temperature remains constant.
A pure substance melts at a precisely defined temperature,
characteristic of every crystalline substance. With a pure
substance, a melting point is the quickest and most accessible
method for an organic chemist to confirm the identity of a
compound. Additionally, it can also be used as a way to assess the
purity of a product by comparing measured melting points to
known literature values. At the melting point, the solid and liquid
phase exist in equilibrium. Thus the melting point depends on
pressure and usually reported at standard pressure.
 Objective

The purpose of the Melting Point experiment is to learn to

determine melting points (MPs) accurately. This is an important
technique that will be used in many of the experiments in the
organic lab. Always record a MP range - the temperature at which
the first drop of liquid appears, to the temperature at which all
sample has melted. Be sure to distinguish between melting and
movement of the solid due to expansion. The MP range begins
when the first tiny drop of liquid is observed. Remember that an
impure sample melts over a wide range and at a temperature lower
than that of the pure material. For the purposes of this course, a
compound with a MP range of 2°C or less will be considered to be
sufficiently pure.
 Material and Apparatus

 Capillary tube
- A capillary tube is a type of
metering device that is
primarily used in refrigeration
equipment and HVAC systems,
designed to maintain the
temperature of the system.

areacooling.com

 Beaker
- a wide glass with a lip for
pouring that is used especially in
chemistry for holding and
measuring liquids.
www.britannica.com
 Thermometer
- A thermometer is an instrument that
measures temperature. It can
measure the temperature of a solid
such as food, a liquid such as water,
or a gas such as air.

www.nationalgeographic.org

 Wire Gauze
- Wire gauze is a sheet of thin metal that
has net-like patterns or a wire mesh
with a ceramic centre. The gauze is
placed on the tripod stand between the
Bunsen burner and the glassware to
support the beakers, flasks, or other
glassware during heating.

Can handle up to 800 Deg C.
 www.labequipsupply.co.za

 Watch glass
- A watch glass is a round piece of glass
used in laboratories as a surface to
evaporate liquids, to weighed solids ,
for heating substances or powders and
as a cover for a beakers to prevent dust
or any other particles
entering the beaker.
www.alexred.com

 Bensene-burner
- A Bunsen burner is a type of gas burner
commonly used as a heat source in
laboratory experiments. The burner
consists of a flat base with a straight tube extending vertically, known
as the barrel or chimney.

www.rdworldonline.com
 Spatulas
- Laboratory spatulas are implements with
flattened ends used to mix, spread
and lift chemicals.
www.globalspec.com

 Two prong clamp

- A laboratory clamp is an essential piece
of equipment used in a variety of settings
for supporting and securing other items of
laboratory apparatus.
www.fishersci.co.uk

 Gas bottle
- a pressurized container used to store
liquefied petroleum gas.
www.collinsdictionary.com
 Stand and Clamp
- stands is used in combination for
holding and securing other items of
apparatus such as glassware,
tubing, thermometers,
www.fishersci.co.uk

 Rubber band
- To attach the capillary tube to the
thermometer in the melting point.
 Procedure

1- first we tooked the capillary tube and we sealed one end by heating it.

2- then we filled the capillary tube with the substance to fill the tube,we
three tapped the glass watch to fill the tube and then we inverted it and
tapped the top of the tube to cause the solid to fall to the closed end.

3- after that we attached the capillary tube to a thermometer by

using a cork ring.
4- so after we took the beaker with filled paraffin inside of it we placed it
over a piece of wire gauze placed over a tripod stand.

5- therefore we clamped the thermometer carrying the capillary tube by

cork ring to an iron stand and we immersed them in the bath of liquid
paraffin.the surface tension of the bath liquid was sufficient to hold the
capillary tube in position.

6- we turned on the benzene burner by opening the gas cylinder and we

heated the beaker slowly while constantly stirring the contents using a
stirrer to maintain a uniform temperature throughout.

7- then we noted the temperature (t1) when the substance started melting
And we noted the temperature (t2) when the substance was
completely melted.
8- The average of the two readings gives the correct melting point
of the substance.
 Calculation and results

 We used the (A) material

After all of the experiment we got the result of melting point it

was between (133-135)
After searching the melting point that we got we recognized that our result
was (Phenacetin)

Some important information about (Phenacetin)

 Melting point (133-135)
 Boiling point (355.1 C)
 Molar mass 179.216 g/mol
 Formula C1OH13NO2

Discussion
The purpose of this lab was to learn how to accurately determine melting
points and to use this technique to then determine the melting points of
two unknowns. The melting point is a physical property of a solid which
can be used to help identify a substance. Usually, a solid will not melt at a
specific temperature but instead will melt over a range. When using a
melting point range, a narrow range suggests that the compound is
relatively pure, whereas a larger range suggests a relative impurity. For
this lab, a range of 2 degrees celsius was considered narrow and pure, with
any greater range resulting in a retest with a new sample. ,As a result of
this experiment that we did, we have decided that the sample was
(Phenacetin) with melting point of (133-135)

Bcrc.bio.umass.edu
 Conclusion

The melting point determination of organic compounds helps people

understand the physical and chemical properties of the substance. Many
different factors affect the melting point of any substance, such as the
force of attraction, impurities present in the substance, and the molecules'
size and structure.

www.vedantu.cum
 some question about melting point .

1- Define the (melting point) of a substance ?

Answer / melting point, temperature at which the solid and liquid forms
of a pure substance can exist in equilibrium. As heat is applied to a
solid, its temperature will increase until the melting point is reached.
More heat then will convert the solid into a liquid with no temperature
change. When all the solid has melted, additional heat will raise the
temperature of the liquid. The melting temperature of crystalline solids
is a characteristic figure and is used to identify pure compounds and
elements. Most mixtures and amorphous solids melt over a range of
temperatures.

2- What is the purpose of determining melting point ?

Answer / The melting point of a compound is the temperature at which
it changes from a solid to a liquid. This is a physical property often used
to identify compounds or to check the purity of the compound. Most
pure solids typically melt at a sharply defined, single temperature value.

3- Why could the rate of heating influence the melting point ?

Answer / Results depend strongly on the heating rate - the higher the
heating rate the higher the observed melting point temperature.
Pharmacopeias apply a constant heating rate of 1 °C/min. For highest
accuracy and non-decomposing samples use 0.2 °C/min.
4- Why should sample for melting point determination be finely
powdered ?

Answer / The primary requirement for good melting point

determination is that the sample be in a fine powder form. This
makes the heat transfer into the sample more efficient and
reproducible, and also enhances the overall reflectivity of the sample
for easier automated detection of the melt.

5- Why is this method not used for finding the melting points of
inorganic compounds ?

Answer / This is due to the type of bonds present within each type of
molecule. Organic crystals contain weak covalent bonds that can melt
at lower temperatures. In contrast, inorganic molecules have strong
ionic bonds and require higher temperatures to melt.