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    Determining The Molar Mass of Butane. C. S.

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    jahajaha_svensson609
    This experiment determined the molar mass of butane gas by collecting a sample from a lighter into a cylinder, measuring its volume and mass, and performing calculations. The experimental molar mass was around 64 g/mol which differed from the theoretical value of 58 g/mol, likely due to inaccuracies in measuring the lighter's mass before and after as it remained wet.

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    Determining The Molar Mass of Butane. C. S.

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    jahajaha_svensson609
    11K views4 pages
    This experiment determined the molar mass of butane gas by collecting a sample from a lighter into a cylinder, measuring its volume and mass, and performing calculations. The experimental molar mass was around 64 g/mol which differed from the theoretical value of 58 g/mol, likely due to inaccuracies in measuring the lighter's mass before and after as it remained wet.

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    Determining the Molar Mass of Butane. C. S.

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    This experiment determined the molar mass of butane gas by collecting a sample from a lighter into a cylinder, measuring its volume and mass, and performing calculations. The experimental molar mass was around 64 g/mol which differed from the theoretical value of 58 g/mol, likely due to inaccuracies in measuring the lighter's mass before and after as it remained wet.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    11K views4 pages

    Determining The Molar Mass of Butane. C. S.

    Uploaded by

    jahajaha_svensson609
    This experiment determined the molar mass of butane gas by collecting a sample from a lighter into a cylinder, measuring its volume and mass, and performing calculations. The experimental molar mass was around 64 g/mol which differed from the theoretical value of 58 g/mol, likely due to inaccuracies in measuring the lighter's mass before and after as it remained wet.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Christina Svensson

    Emery White, Melissa Love


    17.04.09

    Mr. Porter
    SCH3UE- 03

    Determining the Molar Mass of Butane

    Purpose:
    Cigarette lighters contain a gaseous fuel that burns quickly. It produces a large amount of heat
    using only a small amount of gas. In this experiment, the volume and mass of a sample of this
    gas was measured. Then these data was used to calculate the molar mass of the gas.

    Materials:
    - 4 L plastic pail
    - 50 mL gas collection tube
    - disposable cigarette lighter
    - stopper
    - funnel
    - electronic balance
    - tap water
    - thermometer

    Procedure:
    1. The striker, flint and spring was removed from the disposable lighter by Mr. Porter
    2. The 4 L plastic pail was filled with tap water. The temperature of the water was
    measured using the thermometer. This temperature was used to approximate the
    temperature of the gas.
    3. The lighter was immersed in water, and then the mass of the lighter was determined
    using the electronic balance. This mass was used to set a standard for the mass of the
    wet lighter after being used in the experiment.
    4. The gas collection tube was filled with water and turned upside down, after covering
    the cylinder with a stopper (a hand). It was made sure that there were no air bubbles in
    the cylinder before removing the stopper. This created a water-filled measuring tube
    to collect gas.
    5. The lighter was held under the upside down water-containing cylinder and the button
    on the lighter was depressed until enough gas had been obtained.
    6. The cylinder was lifted until the water inside the cylinder was on the same level as the
    water outside the cylinder (in the plastic pail). This was done to equalize the pressure
    in the cylinder with the pressure in the atmosphere. After equalizing the pressure, the
    volume of the gas was then read of the cylinder.
    7. The lighter was then shaken dry and massed
    8. The air pressure was given by Mr. Porter
    Qualitative Observations:
    Mass of lighter before completed experiment 18.18 g ± 0.01 g
    Mass of lighter after completed experiment 17.55 g ± 0.01 g
    Volume of gas in gas collection tube (cylinder) 0.244 dm3 ± 1.0 mm3
    Temperature of gas (approximated by the 301 oK ± 0.5 oK
    temperature of the air)
    Air pressure 101.9 KPa ± 0.2 KPa
    Vapour pressure of water 3.78 KPa

    Qualitative Observations:
    Water Transparent, liquid,
    Butane (C4H10) Transparent, gaseous,

    Analysis:
    1a.
    ∆m= mi – mf
    ∆m=18.18 g-17.55
    ∆m=0.63

    b.
    P=101.9±0.2 KPa-3.78 KPa
    P =98.12±0.2

    c.
    n= PVRT
    n=101.9±0.2KPa-3.78 KPa(0.244 dm3)8.134( 301oK)
    n= 23.941282448.334
    n=0.0097786005

    2.
    M= mn
    M=0.630.0097786005
    M=64.42639742
    M ~ 64.43
    ∑The mass of the butane gas is ~ 64.43 g

    Discussion:
    In this experiment, butane gas from a cigarette lighter was collected and measured in order to
    determine the molar mass of butane: the volume and mass of this collected sample of butane
    gas was measured and used to calculate the molar mass. The theoretical molar mass of butane
    (C4H10) was calculated, and so was the percentage error between the theoretical value and the
    experimental value. The experimental molar mass of butane was calculated to be ~ 64.43 g,
    while the theoretical value was calculated to be ~58.12. The percentage error between these
    two values ~13.29%, which is considered to be a rather high percentage. With these results,
    the approximate molar mass of butane was calculated. Several improvements could have
    been done to the experiment. The wet lighter could have been given time to dry to be able to
    obtain a more accurate mass (since the lighter most likely had a different mass on the two
    occasions it was massed). The water caused the lighter to have an increased mass, causing an
    increase in the experimental molar mass of the, leading to a high percentage error. Another
    improvement that would have made the lab more accurate would be a more accurate reading
    of the volume of gas in the gas collecting cylinder. A decrease in the volume would lead to a
    decrease in the molar mass of butane, as an increase in volume would lead to an increase in
    the molar mass of butane. To improve this, a thinner cylinder could have been used. This
    would have increased the accuracy in the reading because the gas would be .............................
    ....................................................................................................................................................?

    Conclusion:
    3. The theoretical molar mass of butane (C4H10):
    m=4 ×12.011(10×1.0079)
    m=58.123 g/mol
    The theoretical molar mass of butane is ~58.12 and differs from our actual result by 7.727 g.
    This is quite a lot to be such a light gas, and therefore it is believed that a mistake was done
    when determining the mass of the lighter after completing the experiment. Since the lighter
    was wet when massing it, there was no way of determining how much water was still on the
    lighter. This would have led to a larger value, again leading to a larger uncertainty (see
    analysis question #4; Percentage Error) then expected.

    4. Percentage Error:
    % error= actual value-theoretical valuetheoretical value ×100%
    % error= 65.85-58.12358.123 ×100%
    % error=0.1329422088 ×100%
    % error=13.29422088%
    % error~13.29%

    5. Sources of error:
    If air was left inside the cylinder, the calculated experimental molar mass of butane would be
    wrong, since it is no longer pure butane. Also, the air left inside the cylinder might affect the
    temperature of the butane gas inside the gas collecting cylinder, causing a higher molar mass.
    To improve this, a better stopper (than our hands) could have been used). This would cause
    the air to stay out of the cylinder, and not affect the molar mass of the butane.
    The reading of the volume inside the gas collecting cylinder could also have been inaccurate,
    and is a highly valid source of error. If the volume of the gas was incorrectly read, it could
    lead to either an increase or decrease in molar mass. Write improvement
    Assuming the temperature inside the cylinder- being the temperature of the butane gas- is the
    same as the temperature of the air, is also a source of error. A thermometer could have been
    placed inside the cylinder to ensure an accurate temperature. To avoid affecting the molar
    mass of butane, the volume of the thermometer would be subtracted from the volume of the
    cylinder holding the gas.
    The mass of the wet lighter is not accurate at all. The amount of water being attached to the
    lighter might, and most likely will, differ on the two occasions being massed. This will lead
    to an increase in value when calculating the molar mass of butane.

    – the mass of lighter not accurate  could have dried before determining mass
    - Bubbles of butane gas could have escaped outside the gas collection cylinder
    (without us noticing)
    -

    References:
    Porter, Michael. 15.04.09. Determining the Molar Mass of Butane; AKA “Flick Your Bic™”

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