Stoichiometry Essay

Through experimental research, the percent oxygen of potassium chlorate can be determined using tactics such as stoichiometry, a technique used to determine the amount of substances that are in a reaction. Stoichiometry is an efficient way to determine how much of a certain substance is within a certain compound, which is used in many practical ways, such as pharmaceutical companies using stoichiometry to determine how much of a particular chemical is needed to use within a drug. However, within certain gas phases, some compounds can even be nonstoichiometric, meaning that the proportions cannot be simplified into an integer (Boldyrev & Lai-Shang, 2001). Stoichiometry is used within this laboratory research to determine, within an unknown mixture
A key component within this laboratory experiment it to document the variations of mass, this is crucial to determine the amount of oxygen being released, so that stoichiometry can then be used to calculate the grams of KClO3 that was released from the substance. Due to potassium chlorates immensely slow decomposition rate, a catalyst is needed to speed up the reaction. Therefore, this experiment requires manganese dioxide (MnO2) as a catalyst to lower the activation energy so that the reaction can occur within a reasonable time. Catalyst can also be used to deoxygenate certain substances (Pancharatnam, Huggins, & Mason, 1975). According to Zhang et al. (2008), manganese dioxide “can catalyze oxygen reduction reaction”, therefore, making it an appropriate catalyst to use within this experiment. The use of MnO2 is not consumed by the reaction and doesn’t play a role in affecting the product or the reaction (P, Graves.
Test tubes were cleaned and dried. To both tubes, a small amount of MnO2 was added. Test tube one was held over a Bunsen burner for 1-2 minutes, to remove moisture, at a 45-degree angle. As that tube cooled, the other tube, test tube 2, was heated in the same manner. After heating the tubes, the weights were recognized as the initial weight. This was inserted into data table 1. Then one gram of KClO3 was added to Test Tube #1, the tube was then swirled to mix the chemicals together. The tube was then weighed, and the weight was recorded in Data Table #1. Then Test Tube #1 was fastened to a ring stand, tilted at a 45-degree angle, and heated over the Bunsen burner for 15 minutes until all of the purple coloring was eliminated. After, approximately one gram of an unknown substance was added to Test Tube #2, the tube was weighed and recorded in Data Table #2. After each heating, for a total of three heating’s each tube, the weights must be taken in order to determine the of O2 gas released. Test Tube #2 was heated in the same manner as Test Tube #1. As Test Tube #2 cooled, Test Tube #1 was reweighed and reheated for 4-5 minutes, and as Test Tube #1 cooled, Test Tube #2 was reweighed and reheated. This process was repeated until both tubes were reheated and reweighed 3 times. A key component within the experiment was