mel tin g po in t

dete r mina ti on
EXPERIMENT NO. 5

APRIL JHANE D. CAÑAS

BSEd SCI 2-1
 melting point determination

The melting point of a solid is defined as the temperature at which the liquid and
solid phases are in equilibrium. The freezing point of a liquid is the same temperature
as the melting point of its solid. However, freezing points are rarely measured in
practice because they are more difficult to determine. One reason for this is that
solidification may not occur at the correct temperature due to the phenomenon of
supercooling. Supercooling occurs when a liquid is cooled below its freezing point.
 melting point determination

Determination of the temperature at which the solid and liquid phases of a

substance are in equilibrium is tedious and time consuming; it is also quite difficult with
a small amount of sample. Thus, in practice, most melting points are determined as
capillary melting points, which can be done quickly with a small amount of sample in a
capillary tube. A capillary melting point is defined as the temperature range over which
a small amount of solid in a thin walled capillary tube first visibly softens (first drop of
liquid) and then completely liquefies.
 melting point determination

A solid is said to melt sharply if the melting point range is 0.5 - 1.0 oC (narrow
melting point range). A pure solid will generally melt sharply because the forces of
attraction between its particles are the same. However, the presence of a foreign
particle in a crystal lattice interrupts its uniform structure and the forces of attraction
are weakened. An impure solid melts at a lower temperature and over a wider range.
Thus, a solid's melting point is useful not only as an aid in identification but also as an
indication of purity.
objectives:
At the end of the experiment, the students will be able to:

01
determine the melting
02
differentiate between
point of a substance pure and impure
as physical property solids based on their
from the temperature melting points.
readings;
materials/appARATUS:

Thermometer Thin-walled capillary tube Test tube

100 ml Beaker Heating medium – water or paraffin
Test tube rack Tripod stand Wire gauze
Dropper Stirrer Gas burner
solid substance
procedures:

01 02 03
Crush the given
Seal the thin-walled
compound and place it Attach the tube
capillary tube on one
in the capillary tube in to the thermometer.
end by heating it
powdered form.
on a gas burner
Repeatedly tap the
for a few seconds.
tube.
procedures:

04 05
Setup (as shown in the
06Heat the liquid bath
Fill the beaker with gently with continuous
figure).
paraffin or water and stirring so that the
place the tube with a constant temperature
thermometer on is maintained
throughout the liquid.
the beaker.
procedures:

07 08 09
Reduce the flame as the Note the temperature
The average of the
temperature reaches the when the substance
melting point of the solid two values gives the
starts melting and the
and allow the correct melting point
temperature when the
temperature to rise of the substance.
solid completely melts.
gradually.
 EXPERIMENT LINK:

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=ggXHDZFsQBc
Data an d
resul ts
 Given:

Temperature when the substance starts to melt: 79 °C

Temperature when the substance completely 81 °C
melted:

Melting point of the substance: 80°C

Formula: Solutions: = 79 °C +81 °C

2
Average = t1 + t2 = 160 °C
2 2
Answers= 80°C
 1. How does the melting point of a pure sample
compare with that of an impure
sample?

-The melting of of a pure sample is sharp

while in impure sample the melting point is lower.

 2. If you will be given an unknown, how will you

determine whether the sample is pure or impure?
Describe the procedure that you will undertake.

-Well, I think I can differ it by by melting the small

piece of it the material and by checking the melting
point results whether it is sharp for pure and low for
impure substance.
DOCUMENTATION