Ryan Trinter

1A ALA Pre-Chemistry
1/7/15
Lab Partner: Josh Waller
Percent Water Composition of Hydrates and Leftover Aluminum Wire Lab
Report
Abstract
The main problem in the hydrate and aluminum wire lab was to
see how chemical reactions, such as with the aluminum wire, and
chemical bonds, such as with the hydrate, could be proven through
mass change. In both labs, we measured the beginning and final
masses of the substances and used this mass difference to calculate
how much water there was in the hydrate or how much aluminum
reacted. This is a kind of simple stoichiometry, the branch of
chemistry that studies balance in chemical equations. By observing
the change in the mass of a hydrate after it was heated, we found that
the mass percent of water in a 5g hydrate was 36.4%. We also found
that approximately .08g of aluminum reacted with .50g of copper (II)
chloride when the mass difference was measured.
Introduction
A hydrate is a substance containing water molecules that are
chemically bound to the substance. Hydrates are usually crystalline
substances with a certain amount of water that can be shown by
weight. In the hydrate lab, we measured out the mass of the hydrate
by heating it until we reached a constant mass and finding the
difference of the initial and final masses. Based on the chemical

Ryan Trinter
1A ALA Pre-Chemistry
1/7/15
Lab Partner: Josh Waller
formula of the hydrate, CuSO45H20, the theoretical mass percent of
water in the hydrate could be calculated and compared with the
experimental data.

In the aluminum wire lab, the following chemical formula was

used:
3CuCl2 + 2Al 2AlCl3 + 3Cu
The aluminum wire was put placed in a copper (II) chloride solution in a
boiling water bath, which acts as a catalyst. The copper coating
created when the two substances react proved as a visible
representation of the chemical change. The use of stoichiometry
shows that when you rub away the copper produced by the reaction,
the mass of the aluminum wire is less than what is was before. Some
of the aluminum had reacted in a single replacement reaction with the
copper (II) chloride to form a different compound. These labs attempt
to explore how stoichiometry can be experimented with through
various labs.
Procedure
In the hydrates lab, we obtained 5g of the hydrate and put it in
an evaporating dish. Heat the dish over a Bunsen burner for five
minutes and let it cool for two minutes. Find the mass of the hydrate
again after is has been heated. If the mass has decreased, note the

Ryan Trinter
1A ALA Pre-Chemistry
1/7/15
Lab Partner: Josh Waller
change and heat it again until you get two consecutive measurements
with the same mass. Calculate the total mass change from beginning
to end. That is the mass of the water in the hydrate. Calculate the
mass percent of water found in the hydrate.
In the aluminum wire lab, set up a bath in a 400mL beaker and
bring it to a boil. Obtain .50g of copper (II) chloride dihydrate.
Dissolve the substance into a test tube with 10mL of distilled water.
Cut about a 16cm piece of aluminum wire and shine the wire with steel
wool. Record the mass of the wire, then place it into the test tube.
Place the test tube into the water bath until the solution becomes
colorless. Remove the wire and rinse and dry it off. Wipe off any
excess copper and record the mass of the leftover aluminum wire.
Results
Hydrate Mass Table

Aluminum Wire Mass Table

Time Heated

*Mass (g)

Mass of

.50g

(Minutes)
0 minutes

48.22g

CuCl22H2O
Initial Mass

.74g

5 minutes

46.72g

of Al wire
Final Mass of .66g

10 minutes

46.38g

15 minutes

46.40g

Al Wire
Mass of Al
reacted

.08g

Ryan Trinter
1A ALA Pre-Chemistry
1/7/15
Lab Partner: Josh Waller
*Mass of hydrate and evaporating dish combined
Calculations:
1) Mass of the water lost:

1) Theoretical Mass of Al reacted:

.053g
2) Percent Error: 50%

1.82g
2) Experiment mass % water:
36.4%
3) Theoretical Mass % water:
36.08%
4) Percent Error: 1%

Discussion
The data represented in the tables show how mass difference is
used to calculate data such as the mass percent of water in a hydrate.
There was about 1.82g of water in this hydrate, which translates into
about a 36.4% water mass. Theoretically, this number is slightly high,
but is only off by about a 1% margin of error. This data relates to
stoichiometry in how it uses heat to break the bonds of the water that
is chemically bonded to the substance. The mass of the water lost was
found in a methodical way without much error that led to fairly sound
results. However, a possible area for the error found in the experiment
could be the small amounts of the hydrate were spilled at different

Ryan Trinter
1A ALA Pre-Chemistry
1/7/15
Lab Partner: Josh Waller
times in the experiment, such as while we were transporting it from
scale to Bunsen burner.
The data relating to the aluminum wire lab shows about a .08g
change in the mass of the aluminum wire from start to finish. This
means that approximately .08g of aluminum reacted with the copper
(II) chloride. Compared to the theoretical number, this result was
extremely high, with about a 50% margin of error. There are many
factors that could contribute to this error, such not being able to wipe
off all of the extra copper on the wire after the reaction. However, the
reaction that happened still proved the purpose of showing
stoichiometry. The balanced reaction that occurred had a limiting
factor of copper (II) chloride and excess material of aluminum.
Sources
Libal, Angela. "What Is a Hydrate in Chemistry?" EHow. Demand Media, 01 Jan. 2009. Web.
07 Jan. 2015.