Aluminum Foil Lab Report

One possible source of scientific error that could be present in the experiment is that when placing the aluminum foil onto the center of the pan, the flame under foil in centered only at the centered. The unknown substances are placed around the side of the aluminum foil, only allowing the flame’s heat to hit the center of the aluminum foil and the area around it. This possible source of error may have affected the outcomes of the experiment because the unknown substances present on the foil may not have been heated evenly, resulting in uneven temperatures for each unknown substance. The substances most closest to the center would receive the most heat from the flame, causing a high temperature, whereas the substances least closest to the center would receive the least heat from the flame, causing a low temperature. This would affect the results because if the heat from the flame was not able to reach a substance, that substance may not have had enough heat for it to melt, affecting the results dramatically. In order for there to be less error, one would conduct the experiment differently by having six separate aluminum foil square for each of the
These two compounds differ in their properties when it comes to melting points and conductivity. By knowing this, one can identify whether a substance is an ionic or molecular compound based on its melting point and conductivity. In addition, this experiment can be applied when people pour salt onto the roads in the winter when it snows (answers.yahoo.com). Salt, an ionic compound, is used in this situation because they can lower the freezing point of water, therefore, salt can melt the snow. Furthermore, vinegar manufacturers rely on molecular compounds to prevent acetic acid from dissociating completely, therefore, making the vinegar not too