Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Your notes

Chemistry
Experimental Techniques
Contents
Apparatus for Measurements
Solutions
Acid-Base Titrations

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 Apparatus for Measurements
Your notes
Time, temperature, mass & volume
Time
Time can be measured using a stopwatch or stopclock which are usually accurate to one
or two decimal places
The units of time normally used are seconds or minutes
Other units may be used for extremely slow reactions (e.g. rusting)
Remember: 1 minute = 60 seconds

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Careful: Units of time often cause issues in results tables.
If the display on a stopwatch showed 1:30.
The incorrect time to record would be 1.30 minutes.
The correct time would be 1.5 minutes.
To avoid any confusion, if the time intervals are less than a minute, it is best / easire to
change the recorded units to seconds.
So, the same stopwatch display would be recorded as 90 seconds.

Temperature
Temperature is measured with a thermometer or digital temperature probe

Laboratory thermometers usually have a precision of a half or one degree

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 Digital temperature probes are available which are more precise than traditional
thermometers and can often read to 0.1 oC
Traditional thermometers rely upon the uniform expansion and contraction of a liquid Your notes
substance with temperature
Digital temperature probes can be just as, if not, more accurate than traditional
thermometers
The units of temperature are degrees Celsius (ºC)
Mass
Mass is measured using a digital balance which normally gives readings to two decimal
places
Balances should be tared (set to zero) before use
Balances should also be allowed time to settle on a final measurement / reading
before it is recorded

The standard unit of mass in kilograms (kg)

However, in chemistry grams (g) are most often used
Remember: 1 kilogram = 1000 grams

Volumes of liquid
The volume of a liquid can be determined using different pieces of apparatus
The choice of apparatus depends on the level of accuracy needed
Three common pieces of apparatus for measuring the volume of a liquid are:
Burettes
Volumetric pipettes
Measuring cylinders

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 Your notes

Burettes are the most accurate way of measuring a variable volume of liquid between 0
cm3 and 50 cm3
They are most commonly used in titrations
Careful: Read the burette scale from top to bottom as 0.00 cm3 is at the top of the
column
Volumetric pipettes are the most accurate way of measuring a fixed volume of liquid,
They have a scratch mark on the neck which is matched to the bottom of the
meniscus to make the measurement
A pipette filler is used to draw the liquid into the volumetric pipette
The most common volumes for volumetric pipettes are 10 cm3 and 25 cm3
Measuring cylinders are used when approximate volumes are required (accuracy is not
an important factor)
These are graduated (have a scale so can be used to measure)
Measuring cylinders typically range from 10 cm3 to 1 litre (1 dm3)
Whichever apparatus you use, you may see markings in millilitres, ml, which are the same
as a cm3

Volumes of gas
For some experiments, the volume of a gas produced needs to be measured
This is typically done by using one of the following methods:
Using a gas syringe
By downward displacement of water
A gas syringe is more precise and accurate than downward displacement of water

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 Your notes

Diagram of the set-up for an experiment involving a gas syringe

Downward displacement of water is where a measuring cylinder is inverted in water to
collect the gas produced
This method does not work if the gas is soluble in water

Diagram of the set-up for an experiment collecting gas by downward displacement of

water

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 If the gas happens to be heavier than air and is coloured, the cylinder does not need to
be inverted
Your notes
Advantages & disadvantages of methods &
apparatus
In the lab, we often have choices of different apparatus to do the same job
Evaluating which piece of apparatus is the best one to use is part of good experimental
planning and design
This means appreciating some of the advantages and disadvantages of laboratory
apparatus

Advantages and disadvantages of lab apparatus

Apparatus Advantage Disadvantage

Temperature More precise readings Can be corroded by some

probe reagents
Easy to make multiple
repeat readings More expensive (to
replace)
Can be automated to run
over long periods of time

Volumetric Accurate measurement of a Harder to use than a normal

pipette fixed volume pipette
Only measures one fixed
volume

Gas syringe Easy to set up The syringe can stick

Keeps the gas dry Collects limited volumes
Expensive and delicate /
fragile

Microscale Less wasteful Hard to see what's happening

experiments
Saves energy Lose a lot of material
separating / purifying the
Safer products

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 Your notes

Five pieces of apparatus that can be used to measure the volume of a liquid. They all have
their pros and cons

Planning your method

Good experimental design includes the answers to questions like
Have I chosen a suitable apparatus for what I need to measure?
Is it going to give me results in an appropriate time frame?
Is it going to give me enough results to process, analyse and make conclusions?
Does it allow for repetitions to check how reliable my results are?
Does my plan give a suitable range of results?
How can I be sure my results are accurate?
Have I chosen an appropriate scale of quantities without being wasteful or unsafe?
You may be asked about experimental methods in exam questions and your experience
and knowledge of practical techniques in chemistry should help you to spot mistakes
and suggest improvements

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Make sure you know the names of common laboratory apparatus.

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 Solutions
Your notes
Solutions
You need to know all the following terms used when describing solutions:

Terminology about solutions table

Term Meaning Example

Solvent The liquid in which a solute dissolves The water in

seawater

Solute The substance which dissolves in a liquid to form a The salt in

solution seawater

Solution The mixture formed when a solute is dissolved in a Seawater

solvent

Saturated A solution with the maximum concentration of solute Seawater in the

solution dissolved in the solvent, at agiven temperature Dead Sea

Soluble A substance that will dissolve Salt is soluble in

water

Insoluble A substance that will not dissolve Sand is insoluble

in water

Filtrate The liquid or solution that has passed through a filter Fresh coffee in a
cup

Residue The substance that remains after evaporation, Coffee grounds in

distillation, filtration or any other similar process filter paper

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 Acid-Base Titrations
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Acid-base titrations
Titrations are a method of analysing the concentration of solutions
They can determine exactly how much alkali is needed to neutralise a quantity of acid –
and vice versa
You may be asked to perform titration calculations to determine the moles present in a
given amount or the concentration / volume required to neutralise an acid or a base
Titrations can also be used to prepare salts

Apparatus
25 cm3 volumetric pipette
Pipette filler
50 cm3 burette
250 cm3 conical flask
Small funnel
0.1 mol / dm3 sodium hydroxide solution
Sulfuric acid of unknown concentration
A suitable indicator
Clamp stand, clamp & white tile

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 Your notes

The steps in performing a titration

Method
1. Use the pipette and pipette filler and place exactly 25 cm3 sodium hydroxide solution
into the conical flask

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 2. Using the funnel, fill the burette with hydrochloric acid placing an empty beaker
underneath the tap. Run a small portion of acid through the burette to remove any air
bubbles Your notes
3. Record the starting point on the burette to the nearest 0.05 cm3
4. Place the conical flask on a white tile so the tip of the burette is inside the flask
5. Add a few drops of a suitable indicator to the solution in the conical flask
6. Perform a rough titration by taking the burette reading and running in the solution in 1 – 3
cm3 portions, while swirling the flask vigorously
7. Quickly close the tap when the end-point is reached
The endpoint is when one drop causes a sharp colour change
8. Record the volume of hydrochloric acid added, in a suitable results table as shown
below
Make sure your eye is level with the meniscus
9. Repeat the titration with a fresh batch of sodium hydroxide
10. As the rough end-point volume is approached, add the solution from the burette one
drop at a time until the indicator just changes colour
11. Record the volume to the nearest 0.05 cm3
12. Repeat until you achieve two concordant results (two results that are within 0.1 cm3 of
each other) to increase accuracy
Rough titre Titre 1 Titre 2 Titre 3

Final reading (cm3)

First reading (cm3)

Titre (cm3)

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Common errors during a titration include:
Not removing the funnel from the burette
This can lead to some liquid dripping into the burette and cause false / high
readings
Not filling the jet space of the burette
The jet space is the part of the burette after the tap
Not filling this space can lead to false readings

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 Reading the volume from the burette incorrectly
Readings should be taken from the bottom of the meniscus Your notes
Careful: The scale on the burette has 0.0 cm3 at the top and 50 cm3
(typically) at the bottom

Indicators
Indicators are used to show the endpoint in a titration
Wide range indicators such as litmus are not suitable for titration as they do not give a
sharp colour change at the endpoint
However, methyl orange and phenolphthalein are very suitable
Some of the most common indicators with their corresponding colours are shown
below:

Common acid-base indicators

Indicator Colour in acid Colour in alkali Colour in neutral

Litmus solution Red Blue Purple

Red litmus paper Stays red Turns blue No change

Blue litmus paper Turns red Stays blue No change

Methyl orange Red Yellow Orange

Phenolphthalein Colourless Pink Colourless

Thymolphthalein Colourless Blue Colourless

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