3.1.4

Measuring Mass

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Changing Mass

In chemical reactions, substances may seem to lose or gain mass. Normally, 1 of the reactants (or products) is a gas, and gas can escape into the surrounding environment.

Illustrative background for Burning of woodIllustrative background for Burning of wood ?? "content

Burning of wood

  • When wood is burnt, it releases carbon dioxide and water (and often other gases).
  • These gases can escape into the atmosphere. These gases can't be weighed easily at the end of a reaction.
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Corrosion of metals

  • The mass of the oxide produced will be larger than the mass of the starting metals because oxygen atoms from the atmosphere have been added:
    • E.g. 2Mg + O2 → 2MgO
  • The change in mass will equal the mass of the oxygen atoms which have been added.
Illustrative background for Zinc + hydrochloric acidIllustrative background for Zinc + hydrochloric acid ?? "content

Zinc + hydrochloric acid

  • During this reaction, you would expect the mass of the flask and reactants (zinc and hydrochloric acid) to decrease.
  • This is because the hydrogen gas produced will escape from the flask.

Chemical Measurements

Every chemical measurement involves some uncertainty.

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Uncertainty

  • E.g. a digital thermometer is able to measure to a precision of 0.1oC.
    • If this thermometer displayed a reading of 35.4oC, the actual temperature could be anywhere between 35.35oC and 35.45oC.
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Reducing uncertainty

  • The larger the uncertainty, the larger the range of results you should expect.
  • This is a reason why it is important to repeat the measurements from experiments several times, and calculate an average from them.

Jump to other topics

1Atomic Structure

2Chemical Bonding

3Quantitative Chemistry

4Chemical Changes

5Energy Changes

6The Rate & Extent of Chemical Change

7Organic Chemistry

8Chemical Analysis

9Chemistry of the Atmosphere

10Using Resources

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