Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to form copper oxide by using two methods. These two methods will allow us to determine the ratio of copper to oxygen in the compound and also determine its empirical formula.

Procedure:

Experiment #1: To start off, I recorded the weight of an empty crucible. Then I added 10mL of copper and recorded its mass. Then I placed the crucible on a Bunsen burner and left it on low heat for 45 seconds. I observed and recorded any evidence of a reaction. Then I removed the crucible from the Bunsen burner and allowed it to cool before finally weighing and recording its mass.

Experiment #2: To start this experiment off, I recorded the weight of a 50mL beaker. Then I added 5g of copper sulfate pentahydrate to the beaker and recorded its mass. Then I added 30mL of water to the beaker to dissolve the copper sulfate pentahydrate. Once it dissolved, I added 10mL of 6 M sodium hydroxide to the beaker and recorded any evidence of a reaction. I then decanted the beaker by transferring all of the liquid contents into another empty beaker. The solid remained in the original beaker. Then I weighed and recorded the mass of a clean test tube. I transferred the solid form the first beaker into the clean test tube. Then I placed the test tube on a Bunsen burner on low heat for 45 seconds, and recorded any evidence of a reaction. Finally, I removed the test tube and let it cool before weighing and recording its mass.