Formula of a Nitrate Lab

Hello, today we worked on the Formula of a Nitrate Lab.

In this lab, we observed the reaction of copper metal and silver nitrate solution and tomorrow, we will use the masses in order to find and write the balanced chemical formula for this reaction.  Then we will be able to find out if a 2+ or 3+ ion of copper was used.

First we mixed 1.5 g of silver nitrate in 25 mL of water until all of the silver nitrate dissolved.  Then we cut a 25 cm piece of copper wire.  We loosely wound this piece of copper around a piece of would and placed it in the beaker with the silver nitrate solution so that the end of the copper was not touching the  bottom of the beaker.  

We let this sit for 15 minutes.

When we came back, the copper wire was covered with silver, and the water solution had become a bright, light blue liquid.  

After observing this, we took the removed the copper wire and sprayed with water over a massed beaker in order to clean all the silver off it.  We then put the clean wire in an acetone rinse beaker and then took the copper wire's mass.

 

Next we decanted the water from the beaker with the silver into a waste flask.

Tonight, we are allowing the rest of the water to evaporate from the beaker with the silver.  Tomorrow, we will take the mass of the silver, and we will be able to finish the lab.  The next scribe will be Christine.