Zinc Chloride Synthesis Lab Report

“The Synthesis of Zinc Chloride”, what a peculiar name for a lab that does not even involve synthesis. Synthesis, by definition, is when two elements are combined in a chemical reaction,but that is not the case. In this lab we are combining zinc, an element, and hydrochloric acid, a compound, but combining a compound and an element is not synthesis, it is single replacement. We are taking zinc and hydrochloric acid and making zinc chloride and hydrogen, a single replacement, but what occurred during that replacement? The lab starts with a given amount of zinc and 10 milliliters of hydrochloric acid being placed in a test tube surrounded by cold water. The zinc then replaces the hydrogen in the hydrochloric acid, leaving the excess hydrogen to form hydrogen gas. The replacement zinc combined with the existing chlorine creates ZnCl2, or Zinc Chloride. As stated prior, the reaction that occurred was single replacement, and not synthesis. Through the reaction the zinc loses an electron, leading to the hydrogen gaining an electron and becoming H2. Although the reaction makes sense, what proof do we have that it occurred? For starters, after the reaction began
A ratio this high would be attributed to a miscalculation, but unfortunately there are many areas in which one could occur. A simple scale error could have done the trick, with the group forgetting to rescale or another object being present, just barely, upon the scale. Another solution for the error could be with a loss of zinc chloride. If there were less zinc chloride the ratio would increase. A loss in zinc chloride could be caused by a large amount being stuck to the side of the test tube or spilled when present in the container. Finally, it could be a simple arithmetic error. Since the group may of done the mathematics by hand one simple error could have drastically changed their final