Copper Oxide Lab Report

The primary objective in the lab is to determine the molecular formula of Copper Oxide through synthesis of copper oxide. In the first procedure, an empty crucible, Bunsen Burner, and electronic scale were placed onto the workbench. The electronic scale was zeroed before the crucible was placed on it. The total mass of the empty crucible was 88.000g. Afterwards, 10 grams of copper powder was placed into the crucible and weighed to be 98.000 g. The crucible with the copper was placed onto the Bunsen Burner. The initial color of the copper was red. The Bunsen Burner was set to a low flame and the crucible was observed for a minute. An additional 30 seconds was observed to ensure that the reaction was fully complete. After the reaction was complete, the color of the copper oxide was a dark black. The crucible and copper oxide was weighed to be 100.518 grams. The used materials were then placed into the waste recycling bin.
The initial moles of copper used is .1574 moles. I calculated the mass of the oxygen by subtracting the mass of the crucible before the reaction and the afterwards. Then, in order to determine the moles of oxygen used during the reaction, I divided the mass of oxygen by its molar mass of 16.00 g/mol. The moles of oxygen was determined to be .1574. Afterwards, by dividing moles of copper over moles of oxygen, I determined that the molar relationship between Copper and Oxygen was 1:1. And, because of the molar ratio, the empirical formula was then found to be CuO. From the given information, I developed the balanced chemical equation for the