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Useful Formulas for Experimental Calculations: %Yield, %Error, etc.

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Exp 1: Molecular Models & Molecular Structure

During this experiment, you will draw Lewis Dot Structures for a number of organic molecules, as well as other commonly encountered molecules, and some ions.  Drawing Lewis Dot Structures is the first step in understanding how organic molecules are put together, the types of bonds they contain, and their shape.  Once you know how to draw Lewis Structures, you will make molecular models for some of these molecules.  You will also learn how to predict bond polarity and to determine if a molecule is polar.

You must print the worksheets, which are available online to record your results, prior to coming to class for this lab.

Exp 2: Properties of Hydrocarbons: Alkanes, Alkenes, Aromatic Hydrocarbons and an Alcohol

In the reactions we will perform in this experiment, hexane will be used to represent the saturated hydrocarbons, cyclohexene will be used as an unsaturated hydrocarbon, and toluene, the aromatic hydrocarbon. Methanol will also be examined. You will use combustion, reactions with halogens and potassium permanganate, as well as solubility to characterize these organic compounds.

As a precaution during these experiments, you should be extremely careful since hydrocarbons are extremely flammable.  The Bunsen burner, or other sources of flames, will not be used in the laboratory, unless expressly directed by the instructor.

Exp 3: Recrystallization and Extractions of Organic Compounds

In this experiment, you will use two important organic protocols: extractions and re-crystallization.  You will start to a mixture of two different organic chemicals (benzoic acid and m-nitroaniline), along with an inorganic chemical (NaCl).  We will discuss procedures required to separate the benzoic acid from the other components.  Once we have the benzoic acid isolated from the other chemicals, we will purify the benzoic acid using re-crystallization.

Exp 4: Properties of Alcohols, Aldehydes and Ketones

In this experiment, you will do a series of chemical reactions designed to characterize alcohols, aldehydes and ketones.  You will be able to determine if a reaction has occurred  by several means, including color changes and chemical odors.  Many of these compounds have distinctive odors, and the new chemicals you make will have different odors, some of which will be familar to you.

Exp 5: Distillation of Isopropanol (2-propanol)

In this experiment, you will purify isopropanol (2-propanol) by simple distillation.  This technique shows you how to purify volatile organic compounds by distillation.  Non-volatile chemicals (such as the dye used in this experiment) does not go into the gas phase, and is effectively separated from the volatile compound.  This procedure is good for the purification of most volatile compounds from compounds that are not volatile, but not very successful for mixtures of compounds which are all volatile (an alcohol and water mixture).  On the other hand, you might want to keep the non-volatile compound, such as for the isolation of salt by evaporation.

Exp 6: Carbohydrates

During this experiment you will look at some of the physical and chemical properties of carbohydrates. Many of the carbohydrates, especially the mono saccharides, are classified as reducing sugars. The term reducing refers to redox types of reactions, specifically reduction (the gaining of electrons) and oxidation (the loss of electrons). Since many of the monosaccharides are aldoses (aldehyde containing sugars), they can be easily oxidized to a carboxylic acid. You will take advantage of this chemical property to assess which saccharides (carbohydrates) are reducing sugars and which are not.

Exp 7: Carboxylic Acids and Esters - Aspirin

Aspirin is a trade name for acetylsalicylic acid, a common analgesic.  Acetylsalicylic acid is an acetic acid ester derivative of salicylic acid. The earliest known uses of the drug can be traced back to the Greek physician Hippocrates in the fifth century B.C. He used powder extracted from the bark of willows to treat pain and reduce fever. Sodium salicylate, a predecessor to aspirin, was developed along with salicylic acid in 1875 as a pain reliever.  In 1897, a man named Felix Hoffman changed the face of medicine forever. Hoffman was a German chemist working for Bayer. He had been using the common pain reliever of the time, sodium salicylate, to treat his father's arthritis.  The sodium salicylate caused his father the same stomach trouble it caused other people, so Felix decided to try and concoct a less acidic formula. His work led to the synthesization of acetylsalicylic acid, or ASA. This soon became the pain killer of choice for physicians around the globe. Scientists never really understood the inner workings of the drug however. It wasn't until the 1970's, when British pharmacologist John Vane, Ph.D. began work on aspirin that people began to understand how aspirin really works. Vane and his colleagues found that aspirin inhibited the release of a hormone like substance called prostaglandin. This chemical regulates certain body functions, such as blood vessel elasticity and changing the functions of blood platelets. Thus can aspirin affect blood clotting and ease inflammation.

Exp 8: Saponification and Making Soap

In today's experiment, we will perform a reaction that has been used for millenia: the making of soap.  Animal fat and vegetable oils are composed principally of esters of the long chain fatty acids and glycerol (glycerin; 1,2,3-propantriol).  Hydrolysis of these triglycerides (triacylglycerides; TAG) in base (e.g., NaOH) yield glycerol (a carbohydrate) and the sodium salts of the fatty acids.  Because the fatty acids are ions, they are soluble in low concentrations in water (actually they are soluble because they form micelles), but in high concentration form insoluble aggregates called soap.  You will start with a vegetable oil and will use NaOH to hydrolyze these triglycerides.  Basic hydrolysis of esters is called saponification.

Exp 9: The Formation of the Wonder Polymer:Nylon, an Amide

The Condensation Polymerization Reaction Used in the Creation of Nylon 6-10. The word "nylon" is used to represent synthetic polyamides. The various nylons are described by a numbering system that indicates the number of carbon atoms in the monomer chains. Nylons from diamines and dicarboxylic acids are designated by two numbers, the first representing the diamine and the second the dicarboxylic acid. Thus nylon 6-10 is formed by the reaction of hexamethylenediamine and sebacic acid.