Butane Molar Mass Lab

Virginia
Nemeth
Chemistry 20
Mr. Bexson

Kindra Scott
2015

October 16th,

Materials:

Lighter
Butane gas
Ring stand
Graduated Cylinder
Thermometer
Water
Scale
Safety goggles

Method:
The first step was to put on our safety goggles, which we would wear for the
remainder of the lab. We then had to fill the graduated cylinder to the rim
with water. Then, placing a hand over the top of the cylinder to prevent
water from spilling, flip it upside down and submerge it in a container of
water. The goal of this step was to prevent air from being trapped inside the
cylinder, which would dilute the butane samples. The first attempt at this
was a complete failure; allowing approximately 50 ml of air to get trapped
inside and spilling water all over our counter. After cleaning up the spilled
water, we tried a second time which turned out to be much more successful.
However, there was still some air trapped inside which was unenviable. The
next step was to hook the ring stand around the cylinder, then attach it to a
pole which would hold it upside down, ensuring the rim of the cylinder would
be submerged. This will prevent any more air from entering the graduated
cylinder. The next step would be to fill the graduated cylinder to a certain
volume with butane gas from a lighter. To fill the cylinder we held the lighter
under water, beneath the cylinder opening, and held down the button that
would normally help to light a fire. To determine the mass of butane
collected, we weighed the lighter before and after, and then subtracted the
two numbers to give us 0.3 grams. To determine the temperature of butane,
we used a thermometer to measure water temperature. Assuming the water
temperature was the same as the butane temperature, we measured 22C
(295K). Using Daltons Law of Partial Pressure, we calculated 11.01 kPa for
pressure of butane. To determine the moles of butane, we used the Ideal gas
law (PV= nRT) to calculate 0.001010 mols of butane. Finally, we used the
experimental molar mass of butane (mass divided by number of moles)
which gave us 297.02. Comparing this result to the accepted value, there

was an 83% error in the result, probably due to a number of mistakes, such
as air bubbles diluting the butane sample, perhaps mishandling of the lighter
where the button was accidentally pressed down, or other inaccurate
measurements. In conclusion, the experimental Molar mass was
297.02g/mol. However this was not very accurate, with an 83% rate of error.

Conclusion: In this lab the experimental molar mass of Butane was

determined. Experimental results (200g/mol) were inconsistent with results
in the literature (50.5g/mol). Possible experimental errors include inaccurate
weighing of the butane lighter, temperature, and pressure, but more likely
due to air bubbles present in the cylinder. For best results this experiment
should be repeated multiple times.