EXPERIMENT 6.

1
WATER IT’S PROPERTIES AND PURIFICATION
DENSITY OF A LIQUID

INTRODUCTION
The density of a sample of a substance is the ratio of its mass to its volume. You
will experimentally determine the density of water and compare your results to the
accepted value of water’s density.
What is the density of water?
MATERIALS
 Device with SPARKvue software  Balance or any scale (readability: 0.01 g)
 Graduated cylinder, 10-mL  Dropper bottle

SAFETY
 Follow regular lab safety procedures.
 REPORT SHEET
EXPERIMENT #: 6.1
WATER IT’S PROPERTIES AND PURIFICATION
DENSITY OF LIQUID

NAME: CYS: RATING:

SCHEDULE: DATE:
INSTRUCTOR: SUBJECT:

PROCEDURES
1. Open SPARKvue.

2. Open the 02B Density of a Liquid lab file in SPARKvue.

3. Measure the mass of the empty graduated cylinder.

4. Record the mass of the empty cylinder in Table 1 on your answer sheet.

5. Use the dropper bottle to add water up to the 2.00 mL mark in the graduated
cylinder.

6. Record the mass of the cylinder and water in Table 1.

7. Continue to add water and record mass of cylinder + water at 4.00 mL, 6.00 mL,
8.00 mL, and 10.00 mL.

ANALYSIS
Table 1 – Mass and volume
Mass of cylinder + water
Mass of water (g) Volume of water (mL)
(g)
Empty cylinder: ______ g 0 0
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
1. Subtract the mass of the empty cylinder from the mass of cylinder + water to get the
mass of water. Record the mass of water in Table 1.
2. Enter the mass of water in the SPARKvue table to graph your results with volume
on the x-axis (horizontal ↔) and mass of water on the y-axis (vertical ↕).
 3. Navigate to the next page in SPARKvue to get an expanded view of the graph. Use
the SPARKvue graphing tools to get a linear “best fit” line and show the slope, m.
4. Sketch the graph in the space below. Include appropriate scales for the x-axis and
y-axis. Record the slope, m, with units and the correlation coefficient, r, on the
graph.
Graph 1 – Mass and volume of water

Questions
1. What is the slope of your line? Round the slope to the correct number of significant
figures. Include units.

2. What does the slope of the line represent? Explain your answer. (Hint – Look at the
units!)

3. What is the r value for your linear fit? What does this say about the “goodness” of
your fit?

4. Look up the density of water and calculate the % error of your answer. The formula
for percent error is:
5. Using your graph, what volume of water would you have if the mass is 7.00 grams?

6. What would the mass be if you had 3.50 mL of water?

7. Acetone, an ingredient in nail polish remover, has a density of 0.796 g/mL. What
would the mass be if you had 500.0 mL of acetone? Show your work.
 EXPERIMENT #: 6.2 to 6.3
WATER IT’S PROPERTIES AND PURIFICATION
WHAT IS PH?
INTRODUCTION
The pH scale is associated with acids and bases. You may be familiar with the pH
scale and how to use it to classify substances as acidic or basic, but what does pH
actually measure?
What are you measuring when you measure pH?
MATERIALS
 Device with SPARKvue software  Pipets, graduated (2)
 pH sensor  0.1 M HCl, 10 mL
 Beaker, 250-mL  0.1 M NaOH, 10 mL
 Graduated cylinders, 10-mL (2)  Universal indicator solution
 Stirring rod  pH buffers, 4 and 10
 Test tubes, 20 mm x 150 mm (5)  Markers
 Test tube rack  Wash bottle with distilled water

SAFETY
Follow these important safety precautions in addition to your regular lab procedures.
 Wear safety goggles at all times.
 Use caution with acids and bases.
 REPORT SHEET
EXPERIMENT #: 6.2
WATER IT’S PROPERTIES AND PURIFICATION
WHAT IS PH? (ACID)

NAME: CYS: RATING:

SCHEDULE: DATE:
INSTRUCTOR: SUBJECT:

PROCEDURE

Part 1 − Acids
1. Open SPARKvue.

2. Open the 16A What is pH lab file in SPARKvue.

3. Use the Bluetooth icon to connect the pH sensor.

4. Fill the cup or beaker with distilled water. Calibrate the pH sensor with pH 4 and 10
buffers. Stir the pH probe in the distilled water then give the probe a final rinse with
the wash bottle between buffers.

5. Label the pipets HCl and NaOH. Label 5 test tubes with numbers 1- 5 and place
them in the test tube rack.

6. Pour about 10 mL of 0.1 M HCl into test tube #1. Set this aside in the test tube rack.

7. Make Mixture #2:

 Use the HCl pipet to add 1 mL (20 drops) of 0.1 M HCl from test tube #1 to test
tube #2.
 Use a clean graduated cylinder to add 9 mL of distilled water to test tube #2.
Mix the contents of the test tube well. Rinse the stirring rod with distilled water
and dry it.
 Set test tube #2 aside in the test tube rack.
8. You mixed 1 mL of 0.1 M HCl and 9 mL of water to make a total volume of 10 mL.
What is the molarity of the HCl solution in test tube #2? Enter this value in Table 1
on your answer sheet.

9. Make Mixture #3:

 Add 9 mL of distilled water to test tube #3.

  Use the HCl pipet to add 1 mL of mixture #2 to test tube #3. Mix the contents of
the test tube well. Rinse the stirring rod with distilled water and dry it.
 Set test tube #3 aside in the test tube rack.
10. What is the molarity of the HCl solution in test tube #3? Enter this value in Table 1.

11. Make solutions for test tubes #4 and #5 by repeating Step 9. To make each
solution, add 1 mL of the previous numbered solution to 9 mL of distilled water
making a total volume of 10 mL.

12. What are the molarities of HCl in solutions #4 and #5? Enter these values in Table
1.

13. Add a few drops of universal indicator to each of the test tubes and mix well.
Remember to rinse the stirring rod with distilled water and dry it when moving
between test tubes. Record the color of each test tube in Table 1.

14. Start collecting data. Use the pH sensor to measure the pH of each solution in
order from most acidic to least acidic, from test tube #1 to test tube #5. Record
the pH values in Table 1. Use the following procedure to thoroughly rinse the pH
probe after measuring each solution:

 Use the wash bottle to rinse the probe with distilled water.
 Stir the pH probe a few times in the beaker filled with distilled water.
 Rinse the probe again with the wash bottle. Gently shake excess water from the
probe.

Follow this thorough rinsing procedure after measuring each solution for the remainder
of this investigation.
PART 1 ANALYSIS – ACIDS

Table 1 – Acids
Molarity of Negative Color of
[H+] Value of the
Test Molarity of HCl in value of the solution
[H+] pH
tube HCl (M) scientific (M) [H+] with
exponent
notation (M) exponent indicator

1. For each of the test tubes, express the molarity of HCl in scientific notation. Record
these values in Table 1.

2. HCl is a strong acid, meaning it completely dissociates in water to produce H+ and

Cl–. The molar concentration of H+ is symbolized as [H+]. For each of the test tubes,
write the [H+] in scientific notation in Table 1.

3. For each of the test tubes, record the [H+] exponent value in Table 1.

4. For each of the test tubes, record the negative [H+] exponent value in Table 1.

PART 1 QUESTIONS - ACIDS

1. What specific type of matter do you think the indicator detects?

2. Would an indicator or a pH sensor be more useful if you needed a more accurate pH

measurement of a solution? Explain your answer.
3. Use the [H+] from Table 1 to calculate -log[H+] for each of the solutions. What column
of data in Table 1 does this match?

4. How do the calculated pH values compare to the measured pH values? What are
some sources of error?

5. If your solution had a [H+] equal to 2.0 x 10–5 M, what is the approximate pH based
on the exponent? Using your calculator, what is the actual pH?

REPORT SHEET
EXPERIMENT #: 6.3
WATER IT’S PROPERTIES AND PURIFICATION
WHAT IS PH? (BASE)

NAME: CYS: RATING:

SCHEDULE: DATE:
INSTRUCTOR: SUBJECT:

PROCEDURE

Part 2 − Bases
1. Clean and rinse the test tubes and graduated cylinders. Label the 5 test tubes with
numbers #9 to #13 and place them in the test tube rack.

2. Pour about 10 mL of 0.1 M NaOH into the test tube labeled #13. Set this aside in
the test tube rack.

3. Make Mixture #12:

 Use a clean graduated cylinder to add 9 mL of distilled water to test tube #12.
 Use a pipet to add 1 mL (20 drops) of 0.1 M NaOH from test tube #13 to test
tube #12. Mix the solution well. Rinse the stirring rod with distilled water and dry
it.
  Set test tube #12 aside in the test tube rack.
4. You mixed 1 mL of 0.1 M NaOH and 9 mL of water to make a total volume of 10
mL. What is the molarity of NaOH in mixture #12? Enter this value in Table 2 on
your answer sheet.

5. Make Mixture #11:

 Add 9 mL of distilled water to test tube #11.

 Use the NaOH pipet to add 1 mL of mixture #12 to test tube #11. Mix the
solution well. Rinse the stirring rod with distilled water and dry it.
 Set test tube #11 aside in the test tube rack.
6. What is the molarity of NaOH in mixture #11? Enter this value in Table 2.

7. Make mixtures #10 and #9 by repeating Step 5. To make each solution, add 1 mL
of the previous numbered solution to 9 mL of distilled water making a total volume
of 10 mL. Remember to rinse and dry the stirring rod between solutions.

8. What are the molarities of NaOH in mixtures #10 and #9? Enter these values in
Table 2.

9. Add a few drops of universal indicator to each of the test tubes and mix well.
Remember to rinse and dry the stirring rod between solutions. Record the color of
each test tube in Table 2.

10. Measure the pH of each solution in order from most basic to least basic, from test
tube #13 to test tube #9. Be sure to rinse the pH sensor thoroughly between
samples as before. Record the pH values in Table 2.

11. Stop collecting data.

ANALYSIS – BASES

Table 2 – Bases
Molarity of Negative Color of
[OH–] Value of the
Test Molarity of NaOH in value of the solution
[OH–] pH
tube NaOH (M) scientific (M) [OH–] with
exponent
notation (M) exponent indicator

13

12

11

10

9
1. Express the molarity of the NaOH solution in each test tube in scientific notation.
Record the values in Table 2.

2. NaOH is a strong base, meaning it completely dissociates in water to produce Na +

and OH–. The molar concentration of OH– is symbolized as [OH–]. For each of the
test tubes, write the [OH–] in scientific notation in Table 2.

3. For each of the test tubes, record the [OH–] exponent value in Table 2.

4. For each of the test tubes, record the negative [OH–] exponent value in Table 2.
PART 2 QUESTIONS - BASES

1. Now that you have experience working with both acids and bases, what do you think
the indicator detects? Explain your answer.

2. pOH is defined as the –log[OH–]. Calculate the pOH for each of the test tubes. What
column of data Table 2 does this represent?

3. pOH is related to pH through the following equation:

14 = pH + pOH

What are the expected pH values for each of your test tubes?

4. How do the expected pH values based on exponents compare to the pH values

measured with the sensor?

5. If your solution had a concentration of 2 x 10–5 M OH-, what is the value of the pOH
and the value of the pH?