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Atomic Weight of Magnesium Determined

The document describes an experiment to determine the atomic weight of magnesium through its reaction with oxygen. Magnesium and oxygen reacted to form magnesium oxide. Calculations using the masses of the reactants and products yielded an atomic weight of magnesium of 24.1 g/mol, which is in good agreement with the accepted value of 24.3 g/mol and has a percentage discrepancy of 1.3%. Sources of experimental uncertainty include the precision of the balance and potential incomplete reaction or absorption of water.

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7 views2 pages

Atomic Weight of Magnesium Determined

The document describes an experiment to determine the atomic weight of magnesium through its reaction with oxygen. Magnesium and oxygen reacted to form magnesium oxide. Calculations using the masses of the reactants and products yielded an atomic weight of magnesium of 24.1 g/mol, which is in good agreement with the accepted value of 24.3 g/mol and has a percentage discrepancy of 1.3%. Sources of experimental uncertainty include the precision of the balance and potential incomplete reaction or absorption of water.

Uploaded by

CSF1
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Determination of the Atomic Weight of

Magnesium
Jane Doe
March 18, 2011

Date Performed: 9/25/2006 Partner: John Smith


Instructor: Mary Jones

1 Objective
To determine the atomic weight of magnesium via its reaction with oxygen and
to study the stoichiometry of the reaction:

2 Mg + O2 → 2 MgO

2 Experimental Data
Mass of empty crucible 7.28 g
Mass of crucible and magnesium before heating 8.59 g
Mass of crucible and magnesium oxide after heating 9.46 g
Balance used #4
Magnesium from sample bottle #1

3 Sample Calculation
Mass of magnesium metal = 8.59 g - 7.28 g
= 1.31 g
Mass of magnesium oxide = 9.46 g - 7.28 g
= 2.18 g
Mass of oxygen = 2.18 g - 1.31 g
= 0.87 g
Because of this reaction, the required ratio is atomic weight of magnesium :
16.00 g of oxygen as experimental mass of Mg : experimental mass of oxygen
x 16 1.31
or 1.31 = 0.87 from which, atomic weigh of magnesium = 16.00 × 0.87 = 24.1 =
24 g/mol (to two significant figures).

1
4 Results and Conclusions
The atomic weight of magnesium is concluded to be 24 g/mol, as determined
by the stoichiometry of its chemical combination with oxygen. This result is in
good agreement with the accepted value.

5 Discussion of Experimental Uncertainty


The accepted value (periodic table) is 24.3 g/mol. The percentage discrepancy
between the accepted value and the result obtained here is 1.3%. Because only
a single measurement was made, it is not possible to calculate an estimated
standard deviation.
The most obvious source of experimental uncertainty is the limited preci-
sion of the balance. Other potential sources of experimental uncertainty are:
the reaction might not be complete; if not enough time was allowed for total
oxidation, less than complete oxidation of the magnesium might have, in part,
reacted with nitrogen in the air (incorrect reaction); the magnesium oxide might
have absorbed water from the air, and thus weigh “too much.” Because the re-
sult obtained is close to the accepted value it is possible that some of these
experimental uncertainties have fortuitously canceled one another.

6 Answers to Definitions
a. The atomic weight of an element is the relative weight of one of its atoms
compared to C-12 with a weight of 12.0000000. . ., hydrogen with a weight of
1.008, ot oxygen with a weight of 16.00. Atomic weight is also the average
weight of all the atoms of that element as they occur in nature.
b. The units of atomic weight are two-fold, with an identical numerical value.
They are g/mole of atoms (or just g/mol) or amu/atom.
c. Percentage discrepancy between an accepted (literature) value and an exper-
imental value is:
|experimental result − accepted result|
accepted result

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