syntheticfun-cmaj

Title : Synthetic Fun

Purpose: 1) to create a basic or acidic solution

Hypothesis: We know that when a metal oxide or non-metal oxide is dissolved in water a basic or acidic solution is produced respectively. The element assigned to us was Sulphur (S) which a non-metal. Therefore, when sulphur oxide is reacted with water an acidic solution will be produced.

Procedure:

1) Burn sulphur in crucible over Bunsen burner

2) Obtain sulphur oxide gas with pipette

3) Insert pipette into 100 mL of water in beaker

4) Test pH level of water to determine whether it is acidic with litmus paper and pH paper

Materials: litmus paper Bunsen burner Ring clamp Crucible Crucible tongs 100 mL of water 250 mL beaker (1) 10 mL of sulphur Wire gauze Pipette tweezers

Observations: The burned sulphur gave off a very bad smell. When burned the sulphur produced a yellow gas that we captured and added to the water. When we added the gas to the water there was no noteable reaction. The pH of the water was unchanged after adding the gas.

Results: Our solution was not an acid, but was neutral. Our hypothesis was not correct. The purpose to produce H2SO4 (sulphuric acid) by reacting SO with H2O was not successful. If we were to re-do this experiment and successfully produce and acidic or basic solution using sulphur as a reactant we would need to burn sulphur in air and dissolve the gas produced in a hydrogen peroxide solution.SO2 + H2O2 → H2SO4