Baking Soda Lab Report

Baking Soda Lab: Roshan Gill

Background: In this unit, we began to learn about stoichiometry; where we measure and compare how many chemicals we have, before and after the reaction. Balancing moles and balancing equations are large components in setting up a problem. Another component that we have studied is the yield of reaction (how much product you get). When doing a stoich problem the amount of product you get is a theoretical yield. Your actual yield is the measurement you get using a balance. Baking soda plays a huge role in this lab. Baking soda’s chemical name is sodium bicarbonate, and its chemical formula is NaHCO3. In addition, it is used in making dough rise, making soda fizzy, and is inside of our toothpastes. So when we

Grab a balancing scale
2. Measure the crucible with absolutely nothing inside it
3. Then pour in 3-5 grams of baking soda into the crucible
4. Measure the crucible with baking soda on the balancing scale
5. After recording the measurements in your journal, place the crucible with baking soda, on the ring stand, between the clay triangle
6. Set up the bunsen burner right under the crucible held between the clay triangle
7. Then turn on the gas for the bunsen burner
8. Use the striker to light up the bunsen burner and make sure the fire is slightly touching the crucible
9.. Let it sit for 30 minutes
10. Come back and close the bunsen burner
10. Pick up the crucible with tongs, and place it on the balance
11. Weigh the crucible with the decomposed baking soda
12. Record the measurement you have gotten into your journals
13. Subtract the weight of the crucible with the decomposed baking soda, with the weight of the empty crucible
14. Observe what has happened to the baking soda
15. Record physical observations you have noticed into your journals
16. Now begin to use this information in creating your stoich

After being heated for 30 minutes it weighed only 2.4g. Our group’s goal was to find out the correct formula. So we used stoichiometry in order to find the theoretical yield for each equation. Then all we had to do was compare which theoretical yield would have the closest mass to the actual yield to find the correct formula. Our 2nd equation came closest to weighing the same amount of the actual yield. It weighed in at 2.5g while the actual was 2.4g. So this meant that the second formula was the actual yield. There is evidence for a pattern in chemical activity. The theoretical yields of all four problems have Sodium, but problems #1,#3,#4 have a lighter mass than equation #2. In addition the ones with more mass have a higher yield than the ones with less overall; this is because the gases in each theoretical yield are different. So this means that the mass of the gases in each yield differentiates between which one is the actual yield, and which one is