Tali Weintraub

Chemistry II Lab
Professor Werblowsky
June 2016
Lab 1: Molecular Mass Determination by Freezing Point Depression in t-Butyl
Alcohol
Purpose of experimentTo determine the freezing point of t-butyl alcohol, the molal freezing
point constant for t-butyl alcohol (through measuring the freezing point of tbutyl alcohol plus a known mass of water), and the molar mass of an
unknown (through measuring the freezing point of t-butyl alcohol and a
known mass of the unknown and using the molal freezing point constant of tbutyl alcohol).
Procedure1) Determine freezing point of t-butyl alcohol by itself (known is 25.5
degrees Celsius)
First we weighed a test tube in a flask and then the same test tube and
flask along with a 25 milliliters of t-butyl alcohol in order to determine
the mass of t-butyl alcohol we were using. Then we placed the test
tube with the t-butyl alcohol in a beaker containing ice and water
below 20 degrees Celsius, and immediately put a thermometer into the
test tube to begin measuring the decrease in temperature at 15
second intervals, while continuously mixing the alcohol to distribute
the temperature evenly. We also observed the contents of the test tube
to determine when ice crystals began to form inside and when the
entire sample of t-butyl alcohol became slush like. We recorded all of
the information and then removed the test tube and warmed it until
the sample was ready to be used again. At this point, the freezing point
of t-butyl alcohol was measured to be 24.6 degrees Celsius.
2) Determine the molal freezing point constant for t-butyl alcohol.
We added more ice to the beaker of ice bath to ensure it was still cold
enough. Then with a pipet, we carefully added .20mL (which is also .
20g) of distilled water to the same sample of t-butyl alcohol in the test
tube that was now cooled and fully liquid again. We mixed the two to
make sure that water was fully dissolved and then put the test tube
back into the beaker, to repeat the process towards the end of step 1.
Again, we put the thermometer in the test tube, stirred the solution,
checked for ice crystals and slush, and recorded the new temperature
every 15 seconds. Since this t-butyl alcohol solution now had distilled
water mixed into it, we discarded it and used a new sample for the
third part of the lab. We determined the freezing point of this solution
to be 18 degrees Celsius. The difference in freezing points was 6.6
degrees Celsius. Now we used this information to determine the molal
freezing freezing point constant, since we know that freezing point

depression is equal to the molality of the solution (.001 mol distilled

water solute/ .01863 kg t-butyl alcohol solvent) multiplied by the molal
freezing constant. Therefore, the molal freezing constant of t-butyl
alcohol was determined to be 11.19 degrees Celsius-kg/mol.
3) Lastly, we wanted to determine the gram molar mass of an unknown.
Since we discarded the previous solution, we needed a new sample of
t-butyl alcohol, so repeated the beginning of step one and obtained a
new sample with a slightly different mass. Again we added more ice to
the ice bath in the beaker. For the mass of the unknown, we weighed it
on a weight boat, recorded the weight, and then added it to the sample
of t-butyl alcohol, mixing it so it all dissolved properly and became a
homogeneous solution. We put the test tube with the solution into the
ice bath, and again putt he thermometer in and recorded the
temperature every 15 seconds while stirring and observing physical
characteristics. Freezing point observed was 16 degrees Celsius, when
the crystals started to form, and as it should have, the freezing point
continued to decrease since as more of the solvent froze, the
concentration of the solute was higher. After all data was recorded, we
warmed the solution and then disposed of it properly. For more
accurate results and with more time, we would have done the entire
procedure two times. Now that we had the molal freezing constant of tbutyl alcohol (11.19), the original freezing point of t-butyl alcohol
(26.4), the freezing point of a solution of t-butyl alcohol and the
unknown (16), and the molality of the unknown (11.19-kf/8.6-delta T= .
7685- Mc), it was possible to determine the molar mass of the
unknown, either by plugging all of the information into the folmula that
the lab manual provided, or by find the moles of solute and diving the
measured mass of the unknown by that (see attached paper for
calculations).
Data- See attached paper
Conclusions and DiscussionThere are many reasons this lab could have been flawed, especially
because it was difficult to find a working thermometer so the temperatures
may have been slightly off. Our determined freezing point for t-butyl alcohol
was pretty accurate, so step one was definitely successful. In all 3
experiments it was difficult to determine when precisely crystals began to
form since the ice in the ice bath blocked/ clouded a good view of the test
tube. Additionally, we stirred with the thermometer which may not have
been the best idea. Step 2 and 3 could have had been slightly flawed if
some of the water remained in the pipet or it was measured wrong, or if the
unknown solid didnt properly end up in the test tube to form the solution, or
it was not dissolved properly, because FPD is a colligative property and
depends on concentration/ how much solute you put in. maybe the ice bath
wasnt even cold enough Overall our numbers pretty much agreed with

colligative properties, as the freezing point of t-butyl alcohol with the water
and the unknown both continued to decrease even as some solvent was
already frozen. By following the steps of using molality to find molal freezing
point constant, we were able to determine the molar mass of the unknown.
In general, it would seem as if the lab was successful, as we came up with a
feasible molar mass at the end, 89.5 grams, but apparently that is very off,
so we can attribute the error to any of the mistakes mentioned.