Introduction/Purpose: To determine the role of limiting reagents in a reaction through measurement of

heat production. Second. to determine the stoichiometry of a reaction in which the products and
reactants are unknown. Finally,. To continue to practice the use of excel in analyzing and graphing
data.

Experimental Procedure:

Materials List:

Graphing Lab Pro Temperature 2 10 ml 2 50 ml Two 250 ml 2 400 ml

calculator probe graduated graduated beakers beakers
cylinders cylinders
Polystyrene Reagent A Reagent B Laptop MS Excel Water bottle
cup

Procedure: The calculator was connected to the Lab Pro device with the temperature probe and
EasyData was opened. Reagent A and reagent B were each collected using a 250 ml beaker. Around
110 ml of reagent A and 160 ml of reagent B were collected. 1 400 ml beaker was designated as a
'waste vessel' and was used to dispose of the reagents between trials. The other was used as a holder for
the polystyrene cup. Each trial consisted of measuring a portion of reagent A into the cup, recording the
initial temperature, adding a portion of reagent B to the cup, stirring with the temperature probe and
recording the temperature of the reaction. There were 8 total trials using different proportions of
reagent A and B. For each trial, the total volume equaled 30 ml. Between trials, the contents of the cup
were dumped into the waste vessel, and the cup was rinsed with water and dried. Once finished, the
contents of the waste vessel were disposed of in a vessel in a fume hood. The difference between the
initial temperature of reagent A and the final temperature of the reaction was calculated for each trial.
The results were then graphed using two line graphs, one for the ascending portion of the data, and one
for the descending. The intersection between the two lines was noted, and compared to the highest
temperature change obtained in the individual trials. Using these two figures, the percent error was then
calculated.

Results: The maximum temperature change obtained was in trial 6, where 18.0 ml of reagent A and
12.0 ml of reagent B were used. The difference obtained here, 12.739 C, was slightly above the
temperature difference found in trial 5 (15.0 ml reagent A to 15.0 ml reagent B, 12.696 C). suggesting
that the mole ratio of reagent A : reagent B is somewhere between 3:2 and 1:1. For the remainder of the
trials, as the ratio departed further from 1:1, the temperature change decreased, suggesting that that less
of the total amount of reagents was reacting. The intersection of the two lines in the line graph, the
point that represents the greatest temperature change and thus the highest amount of reagents reacting,
was found to be 16.995 ml of reagent A. This represents a -5.58 % error from the 18.0 ml used in trial
6.

Conclusion: The aim of this lab, using heat or temperature change to determine the mole ratios of a
reaction, was successfully met. Though the data collected is sound, it represents a departure from the
results that most other groups obtained. While we found the closest whole number mole ratio to be 3:2,
most other groups found it to be 1:1. This may be due to improper cleaning of the polystyrene cup
between trials, improper measurement of the reagents, or possibly not allowing the reagents enough
time to fully react in one of the trials. In future versions of the experiment, it may be useful to include a
pipette in the materials to use for some of the finer reagent measurements. While the graduated cylinder
is accurate, there is greater room for human error both in measurement and extraction of the reagent,
which may have had an effect on the results.
 Experiment 3: Determining the Mole Ratios in a
Chemical Reaction
Matthew Orenstein 2/22/2017
Luke Kline