Chemicals from seawater
Class
practical
This
experiment is a simple one to carry out and is designed to show that seawater contains
a mixture of different salts. It can be used in
conjunction with Earth Science topics linked to the conveyance
of mineral salts into the sea via rivers.
This
experiment could be carried out early in a science course while using
scientific apparatus is still a novelty, because it provides practice at using
a variety of equipment and also introduces the concept of a mixture and
some simple chemical tests. It is also an opportunity to reinforce safety
messages eg wearing eye protection throughout and activity and
the need to keep standing up.
Lesson
organisation
The
experiment can be carried by groups of two or three and will take about one
hour to complete.
Chemicals
Seawater,
200 cm3 (Note 1)
Access to
hydrochloric acid, 1 M .
Apparatus
Eye
protection
Beaker
(250 cm3)
Beaker
(100 cm3)
Conical
flask (100 cm3)
Filter
funnel
Filter
paper
Bunsen
burner
Heat
resistant mat
Tripod
Gauze
Teat
pipette
Health
& Safety and Technical notes
Wear eye
protection throughout. Take care with hot apparatus and solutions.
Hydrochloric
acid, HCl(aq) - see CLEAPSS Hazcard and CLEAPSS Recipe
Book.
Limewater,
Ca(OH)2(aq), (treat as IRRITANT) - see CLEAPSS Hazcard and
CLEAPSS Recipe Book.
Calcium
sulfate, hydrated, CaSO4.2H2O(s) -
see CLEAPSS Hazcard.
Sodium
chloride, NaCl(s) - see CLEAPSS Hazcard.
1 Although
it is tempting to use genuine seawater if available, this experiment is
usually more successful if the seawater is generated artificially. Genuine
seawater will not always yield a full range of solids in sufficient quantities
to be detected. Artificial seawater can be generated by adopting the following
procedure:
- Bubble
carbon dioxide through a mixture of 250 cm3 limewater plus
750 cm3 deionised water for about 20 minutes or
until the cloudy precipitate disappears completely.
- Filter.
- Add
as much solid hydrated calcium sulfate as will dissolve.
- Add
about 15 g of sodium chloride.
- Stir
until all the solid has dissolved, leave to settle and then decant the
liquid if necessary.
Procedure
a Place
200 cm3 of seawater in a 250 cm3 beaker.
b Heat
and boil the seawater.
c Stop
heating when about 60-70 cm3 of liquid
remains. Solid will be precipitated during this evaporation process.
d Allow
to cool and for any solids to settle.
e Pour
the clear liquid into the 100 cm3 beaker,
leaving the solids behind.
f Add
a few drops of hydrochloric acid to the solids left behind and observe what happens.
g Put
the 100 cm3 beaker on the tripod and gauze and heat the
liquid until another solid appears. This will occur when about 30-40 cm3 of liquid remains.
h Carefully
filter the liquid into the conical flask.
i Wash
out the 100 cm3 beaker and pour the
filtrate into the beaker.
j Boil
the liquid yet again until there is almost none left.
k Let
it cool and note what is observed.
Teaching
notes
Encourage
the students to write down what they observe at each stage.
Teachers
may wish to mark 250 cm3 beakers at
the 60 cm3 level if there are no gradations already
present.
The
artificial seawater contains calcium hydrogencarbonate owing to the reaction of
limewater with excess carbon dioxide:
Ca(OH)2 (aq) + 2CO2(g) → Ca(HCO3)2(aq)
When this
solution is boiled it soon precipitates calcium carbonate:
Ca(HCO3)2(aq) → CaCO3(s) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)
This is
the identity of the predominant solid first left behind when the liquid is
boiled. However, some calcium sulfate will also be present.
When
hydrochloric acid is added to this solid, students should observe effervescence
(fizzing), since the calcium carbonate is producing carbon dioxide gas:
CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) → CaCl2(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)
The solid
which continuously crystallises out on further evaporation is sparingly soluble
calcium sulfate, which is the predominant solid filtered off when 30 cm3 of sea water remains.
The more
soluble sodium chloride precipitates out during the final stages of
evaporation.
Student
questions
Here are some questions for students.
Here are some questions for students.
a What
evidence is there that seawater is a mixture of salts?
b What
gas is likely to have been evolved when hydrochloric acid is added to the
solids first collected?
c What
does this tell you about the identity of these solids?
d Research
the web to try to find information about the solubilities of sodium chloride
and calcium sulfate – two common compounds present in seawater. Use this
information to predict the possible identity of the very last solid left at the
end of your experiment.
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