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Rate of evaporation

Class practical

Evaporationis the conversion of liquid to vapour without the boiling point necessarily being reached. In this experiment, the timetaken for a drop of propanoneto evaporateis measured under a number of different conditionsand compared.

Lesson organisation

Propanone is highly flammable; ensure that there are no sources of ignition nearby. Pupils could be asked to devise their ownexperiment, in which case teachers must check the plans before practical work starts, or they could be told how to vary the

conditions and exactly what to do. A sample results table is available here.

Apparatus Chemicals

Eye protection

Per pair orgroup ofstudents:

Microscopeslides, 2 or 3Access to warmwater (Note 1)

Dropper pipetteTimer

Propanone (HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, IRRITANT),few cm3

Refer to Health & Safety and Technical notessection below for additional information.

Health & Safety and Technical notes

Read our standard health & safety guidance

Wear eye protection.

Propanone, CH3COCH3(l), (HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, IRRITANT) - see CLEAPSS Hazcard.

1Use warm water from a tap or a kettle. Do not use a naked flame to heat the water.

Procedure

aPut a drop of propanone onto a microscope slide and time how long it takes to evaporate.

bChange the conditions and repeat the experiment, ensuring that you record the conditions used and the time taken for eachone. For example: warm the microscope slide by holding it in your hands, or by placing in warm water and then drying; spread

the drop out with the tip of the dropper pipette; for a cool air flow, fan with a book or similar; for a warm air flow, blow across thedrop.

Teaching notes

Students should be able to observe that warmth, air flow and spreading out the drop all increase the rate at which it evaporates.

Unit 2. Particles and Atomic Structure

Syllabus Ref. 1

http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/RES00000388/rate%20of%20evaporation#!cmpid=CMP00006884http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/RES00000388/rate%20of%20evaporation#!cmpid=CMP00006884

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Liquids evaporate below their boiling point. This is because as the particles move around and collide, some have more energythan the others allowing them to escape from the rest of the liquid as vapour. This results in the overall energy of the liquid (andtherefore its temperature) decreasing.

This experiment lends itself well to being a planning exercise or alternatively there are some sample results tables available.

Health & Safety checked, September 2014

Credits

This Practical Chemistry resource was developed by the Nuffield Foundation and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Nuffield Foundation and the Royal Society of Chemistry

Page last updated October 2015