Magnesium LabMr. Bartelt’s chemistry class

Introduction: We have been studying chemical formulas and performing conversions all week. Today, we’re going to the lab to put what we’ve learned into practice. Today we’re going to burn/cook magnesium metal and analyze the ashes. Answer the following questions in your notes notebook before we go to lab. Be prepared to transfer this information into your lab notebook.

1) What effect will the burning/cooking of magnesium have on the mass of the magnesium? Will its mass be reduced, or increased?

2) Defend your answer above.

Procedure:

1) Set up a ring stand with a clay triangle and a CLEAN crucible.2) Record the mass of the crucible3) Measure 15 cm of a magnesium strip and place it in the crucible.4) Record the mass of the crucible with the magnesium in it.5) Place you crucible (with the magnesium in it) in the clay triangle and the lid on

the crucible.6) Use your Bunsen burner to heat the crucible.7) Once all your magnesium has reacted, put a drop or two of distilled water in your

crucible. It should be sufficiently hot to evaporate all the water.8) Allow your crucible to cool and determine the mass after the reaction.9) Record your data, clean the crucible, and repeat steps 1-8

Data/Results:

Mass of crucible

Mass of Mg and crucible

Mass after reaction

Mass MgBefore reaction

Mass of product after reaction

Change in mass

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3 (optional)

Questions to be addressed in the conclusion:1) Explain the change in mass observed in this experiment.2) Review your pre lab. Was your prediction correct, was the data surprising? Explain.3) What product was formed?