Beanium Isotope Lab Report

Beanium Isotope Lab

Introduction: Isotopes are explained as the variations of the number of neutrons that an element may have. Some isotopes are more common than others. This experiment was performed to help visualize the different isotopes of an element and show how some isotopes will appear more often than others.

Purpose: To visualize and understand isotopes

Materials: Refer to Lab Sheet “Isotope Experiment- Beanium”

Procedure: Refer to Lab Sheet “Isotope Experiment- Beanium”

Observations:

Number of Bn atoms per isotope
Group mass of Bn Isotopes (g)
Brown Beans
28
12.57
Black Beans
100
21.80
Plain Beans
98
24.34
Total:
226
Not Applicable

Calculations:

Mass of one Bn atom
% Isotope by number
Brown Beans
12.57/ 28 =
0.44 g
28/226 x 100 =
12.39 %
Black Beans
21.80/100 =
0.21 g
100/226 x 100 =
44.25 %
Plain Beans
24.34/98 =
0.24 g
98/226 x 100 =
43.36%
Total:
Not Applicable
100%

Discussion:

The beanium demonstrates this as there are more of one kind bean than there are of another kind. The results of this experiment could have been compromised by a number of things. The scales used seemed unreliable. When the beans were removed from the scales the numbers would count down from the weight they previously displayed. On multiple occasions they would stop at at negative number. This indicates an unreliable scale as the weight should never fall below zero grams. Furthermore, many of the same type of beans seemed to be different sizes (indicating different weights). Each bean of the same type should be the same weight. If the beans aren’t of a uniform weight, the mass of a group of ten brown beans could vary depending on what beans were weighed. If this is the case, then the calculations will not be accurate. Isotopes of the same type will have a much more uniform weight. Despite these sources of error, the experiment was successful in representing the variations of the different isotopes of an