University of Technology

General Chemistry Lab 1 (CHY2022)

Experiment #1: The Calibration of a Pipette

Name: Davion Tracey

ID#: 1402673

Course of Study: B. Eng. Mechanical Engineering

Lecturer: Mrs. Barnett

Lab Session: Mondays 11 – 2 pm

Lab Date: February 04, 2019

Date of Submission: February 07, 2019

Aim:
The aim of this experiment was to investigate the precision and accuracy of a pipette by making
accurate determination of the mass of water it delivers in repeated operations

Abstract:
Precision and accuracy are two terms that are deemed important when it comes to measurements
that are obtained in a chemistry laboratory. Every time measurements are obtained there are
some uncertainties that lingers around, it very important to keep these uncertainties very small in
order to obtain results that are accurate and precise. Precision when used in a laboratory means
that the values obtained are close to each other but not necessarily accurate, accurate on the other
hand means that the values obtained are close to the true value. For this experiment the accuracy
and precision of the measuring pipette was determined. Pipettes primary functions in the
laboratory are to measure and transfer small quantities of liquid. The true volume of the pipette
was determined indirectly from the mass of the distilled water it pipetted out into the beaker and
the known density of the water at a particular temperature. The equation V = M/ρ was then
exploited and volume of the pipette calculated. An analytical balance was used to obtain the
mass of the water to four significant figures. The procedure was repeated for 8 trials to develop
some indication of precision of the measurements obtained and also to eliminate random errors.

Procedure:
A 100 cm3 beaker and a 10.00 cm3 pipette were both cleaned and dried. Distilled water was then
obtained in a big beaker which was allowed to stand on the bench for 15 minutes after which the
temperature was recorded. The 100 cm3 beaker was then weighed using an analytical balance
which produced a reading to the nearest tenth of a milligram. The pipette filler was then used to
fill the pipette above the graduation mark after which it was removed and the finger movement
technique was used to bring the water to the graduation mark, which was when the meniscus of
the water in the pipette was in line with the graduation mark. The water from the pipette was
then discharged into the 100 cm3 beaker and the mass of the water was determined by finding the
difference between the beaker plus the water and the beaker by its self. The previous step was
repeated until results for 8 trials were obtained. The beaker was not emptied after each trial but
instead the total mass from the previous trial was subtracted from each following consecutive
trial. After the 8 trials were completed the beaker was allowed to sit for 15 minutes so
temperature could normalise after which the temperature was again recorded and the average
between the temperature at the start of the experiment and at the end of the experiment was
obtained. This represented the effective temperature of the water during the calibration process.

Results:
Nominal volume of pipette = 10 cm3
Temperature of water at start of measurement = 25℃
Temperature of water at end of measurement = 25℃
Average temperature = 25℃
Density of the water at 25℃ = 0.9960 g/cm3

Table 1.0 Showing Mass & Volume of Water obtained in 8 Pipette Trials

Trial No. Mass of water/g Vol, of water V/cm3 (Vi - V) = di/cm3 (Vi – V)2= di2/cm6
1 9.9608 10.00 0.01 5.0E-5
2 9.9145 9.954 -0.040 1.6E-3
3 9.931 9.971 -0.023 5.3E-4
4 9.8981 9.938 -0.056 3.2E-3
.5 9.9848 10.02 0.03 1.0E-3
6 9.9958 10.04 0.04 2.0E-3
7 9.962 10.00 0.01 6.0E-5
8 9.9829 10.02 0.029 8.4E-4
Average mean mass = 9.9537 mean volume = 9.994 Σ di2 = 0.009

Calculations:
Mean mass:
(9.9608 + 9.9145 + 9.9310 + 9.8981 + 9.9848 + 9.9958 + 9.9620 + 9.9829) / (8) = 9.9537 g
Calculation of mean volume of water:
(10.00 + 9.954 + 9971 + 9.938 + 10.02 + 10.04 + 10.00 + 10.02) / (8) = 9.994 cm3
OR
Mean volume of water = (Average mass) / (density of water)
Mean volume of water = (9.9537) / (0.9960) = 9.994 ± 0.036 cm3
Corrected Mean Mass:
(9.9537 + 1.06e-3) = 9.9548 g. The mean mass was corrected adding the correction factor of
1.06e-3 for the air buoyancy.

Corrected Mean Volume:

Corrected mean volume of water = (Corrected mean mass of water) / (density of water)
Corrected mean volume of water = (9.9548) / (0.9960) = 9.995 ± 0.036cm3

Discussion:
Describe the accuracy of the pipette based on the measurements.
The accuracy of a determined result is a measure of the agreement between the obtained value
and the true value. It is often times expressed as relative error which is measured by calculating
the difference between the obtained value and true value and further dividing by the true value.
This results in a percentage of the true value being obtained. For this experiment a 10.00 cm3
pipette was used to pipette the water into the beaker to be measured, therefore the true value in
this instant is 10.00 cm3. The average measured volume obtained from the 8 trials was 9.994
cm3, when the percentage difference was calculated between the two values, a percentage
difference of 0.06% was obtained. This percentage difference is considered to be very low hence
the results obtained are considered to be very accurate as they are close to the true value.

Calculate the standard deviation, S, of the volume discharged by the pipette.

Σ (Vi – V)2 = 0.009 cm6
N=8

𝛴 𝑑𝑖 2 𝛴(𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉)2
√ =√
𝑁−1 𝑁−1

0.009
√ = 0.036 𝑐𝑚^3
8−1
Describe the precision of the pipette base on your measurements and calculations.
Precision refers to the agreement between repeated determinations of a physical quantity
measured under identical conditions. In simpler terms precision is how close a set of values are
to each other. The precision of measured data can be expressed or measured using standard
deviation technique. For this experiment the results obtained/ calculated were observed to be
very close to each other, the standard deviation calculated was found to be 0.036 cm3 which is
considered to be very low. Therefore the pipette is considered precise as it produced an average
volume of 9.995 ± 0.036 cm3 which meant that the volumes calculated for each trial were close
to that average value with a ± 0.036 cm3 standard deviation.

Report the final corrected mean volume of the pipette with the associated standard
deviation.
Corrected mean volume of water = (Corrected mean mass of water) / (density of water)
Corrected mean volume of water = (9.9548) / (0.9960) = 9.995 ± 0.036cm3

Comment on any sources of possible error encountered during the experiment and suggest
possible ways in which these errors can be eliminated or minimised.
As with any other experiment, this experiment was also prone and susceptible to errors. Errors
that may have manifested themselves throughout the experiment includes

 Failure to properly align the meniscus with the volume mark: When the pipette filler was
use to pull in water beyond the graduation mark, the experimenter then used the thumb
finger as a movable seal (opening and closing) to gauge the water back to the graduation
mark. During this process the meniscus of the water may have gone below the graduation
mark which could have affected the results obtained negatively. To minimise such an
error it is being recommended that when gauging the water back to the graduation mark
ensure that the pipette is held at eye level and the finger movement be as slight as
possible to ensure a slow and steady decline in the water level to the volume mark.
 Parallax error: When taking readings the eyes must be level with the volume mark and
the pipette held perfectly vertical. If you are looking up the pipette, the meniscus will be
too high when it appears to align with the mark and the opposite is the same, meaning
when you are looking down the pipette the meniscus will be too low when it appears to
align with the mark. Therefore in order to minimise parallax errors ensure that the eyes
are in line with the volume mark.

 Forcing the solution out of the pipette: if the solution was forced out of the pipette this
may have caused too much to be delivered, it should be noted that the tip of the pipette is
not calibrated therefore forcing the solution out will result in everything leaving the
pipette into the beaker which would have caused an incorrect volume to be calculated.

 Pipette used may have being dirty which resulted in the water molecules adhering to the
wall of the pipette rather than running out. This may have resulted in far less water to be
delivered to the beaker hence affecting the outcome of the experiment negatively.

 When transferring the water from the pipette to the beaker the tip of the pipette may had
rose above the liquid in the container which would have resulted in the liquid to be
sucked back into the pipette bulb hence resulting in some of the water not being
transferred to the beaker to be measured.

 It was noticeable during the experiment that at times when the pipette filler was use to
pull water into the pipette, small air bubbles were observed in the pipette. These air
bubbles took up the space of water molecules resulting in an incorrect volume of water
pipetted into the beaker. It is therefore recommended that when using the pipette ensure
the tip is completely submerged below the liquid surface to eliminate possible air bubbles
during suction.
RAW DATA SHEET: