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Chemistry - Stoichiometry Lab To Find Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide

This document describes a chemistry lab experiment to determine the empirical formula of magnesium oxide. The background information defines empirical formula as the lowest whole number ratio of atoms in a compound. The research question aims to find the empirical formula of magnesium oxide formed when magnesium reacts with excess oxygen. The hypothesis is that the empirical formula will be MgO based on the 1:1 ratio of magnesium and oxygen atoms in the compound, as magnesium has an oxidation state of +2 and oxygen -2. Data from weighing crucibles before and after the reaction will be collected and used to calculate the empirical formula.

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Vidisha Singhal
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27 views

Chemistry - Stoichiometry Lab To Find Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide

This document describes a chemistry lab experiment to determine the empirical formula of magnesium oxide. The background information defines empirical formula as the lowest whole number ratio of atoms in a compound. The research question aims to find the empirical formula of magnesium oxide formed when magnesium reacts with excess oxygen. The hypothesis is that the empirical formula will be MgO based on the 1:1 ratio of magnesium and oxygen atoms in the compound, as magnesium has an oxidation state of +2 and oxygen -2. Data from weighing crucibles before and after the reaction will be collected and used to calculate the empirical formula.

Uploaded by

Vidisha Singhal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Done by: Vidisha Singhal Dated: September 2, 2018

Chemistry – Stoichiometry
Lab to Find Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide

Background Information:
Empirical formula of a compound is the ratio between the number of atoms of each element
that it is made of. It gives the lowest whole number ratio of the atoms present in a compound.1
However, it does not show the actual number of atoms of an element present in the
compound. In this experiment, we are trying to find the empirical

Research Question:
Determine the empirical formula of the compound of the metal oxide - Magnesium Oxide
formed when Magnesium reacts with Oxygen in excess.

Hypothesis:
The empirical formula of the compound Magnesium Oxide should be MgO.

The reason for this is that the ratio of the elements present in the compound is 1:1. This is
because magnesium ions have an oxidation state of +2 and oxygen ions have an oxidation state
of -2. So, the following reaction should take between the two elements:

Mg2+ + O2-  MgO

Since there is only one atom of both the elements in the compound, the ratio can be
hypothesized to be 1:1.

Data Table:
Weight of the Mg with the Time Taken MgO + Mg3N2 with Mgo
Crucible with the crucible with lid the crucible and crucib
lid (g) (g) lid (g)
Trial 1 41.720 0.2
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average of all trials

1 Source: “Lab 2 - Determination of the Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide.” Speed of Sound - Resonance Tube,
www.webassign.net/question_assets/ucscgencheml1/lab_2/manual.html.
Done by: Vidisha Singhal Dated: September 2, 2018

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