Judy Hoang

10/17/14
Chemistry
Lab Report
Chem Lab 6

Descriptive Chemistry of the Elements

Purpose: The purpose of the lab is to see if the chemical and physical properties of elements
can classify the element.

Hypothesis;
The elements that light up will be metals because metals are good conductors of electricity.
Elements that dont conduct electricity or react with acids are going to be nonmetals because
nonmetals are poor conductors. Elements that have properties of both metals and nonmetals
are metalloids.

Procedure:

Material List:
stoppered test tubes containing small samples of elements
plastic dishes containing samples of elements
conductivity apparatus
1.0M HCL
test tubes(7)
test tube rack
10-mL graduated cylinder
spatula
small hammer
glass marking pencil
all safety items needed

Directions:
1. Observe and record the appearance of the element sample in each test tube.
Observations should include physical state color, and other characteristics such as luster
and texture. Caution: Do not remove the stoppers from the test tubes.

2. Remove a small samples of each of the elements contained in a dish and place it
on a hard surface designated by your teacher. Gently tap each element sample with a
small hammer. Caution: Safety goggles must be worn. If it is malleable, it will be flatten.
If it is brittle it will shatter. record your observations.

3. Use the conductivity tester to determine which elements conduct electricity. An

illuminated light bulb is evidence of electrical conductivity. Record your results in your
data table. Clean the electrodes with water and make sure they are dry before testing
each element.

4. Label each test tube with the symbol for one of the elements in the plastic dishes.
Using a graduated cylinder, add 5mL of water to each test tube.
 Judy Hoang
10/17/14
Chemistry
Lab Report
Chem Lab 6
5. Use a spatula to put a small amount of each of the six elements (approximately
0.2 g or a 1-cm long ribbon) into the test tube labeled with its chemical symbol. Using a
graduated cylinder, add 5 mL of 1.0M HCL to each test tube. Observer each test tube for
at least one minute. the formation of bubbles is evidence of a reaction between the acid
and the element. Record your observations.

Cleanup and Disposal:

Dispose of all materials instructed by your teacher.

Observations:

The elements physical appearance after crushed: Element A was turned into a black powder
after it was hit with the hammer. It left some black smudges on the paper after it was put back.
Element B was a gas so when it was hit with the hammer nothing happened. Element C was
also turned into powder after it was hit with the hammer. Element D became flat after it was hit
with the little hammer. Element E easily turned to powder after it was hit with the little hammer.
The powder flew everywhere. It also smelt like a match that has been lit. ELement F was not
malleable or brittle so it did not change when it was hit with the hammer. Element G was
flattened a little when it was hit with the hammer. Physical appearance during reaction: Element
A through D did not changed during the reaction. Element F was bubbling a lot. Parts of it F was
bubbling up to the surface then went back down. Element G was bubbling very little. It was
spewing out very small bubbles.

Data/Results:

Table 1

Observation of Elements
Element Appearance and Malleable Reactivity Electrical Classification actual
physical state or brittle? with HCL Conductivit element
 Judy Hoang
10/17/14
Chemistry
Lab Report
Chem Lab 6
y

A Looks like pencil Brittle - yes metalloid lead

lead, gray and
long

B colorless none - no nonmetal oxygen

C shiny and rock brittle - no nonmetal boron

like

D silver and shiny malleable - yes metal or tin

metalloid

E yellow, small, brittle - no nonmetal sulfur

pebble, sized

F grey, shiny and none + yes metaloid phosphorus

dull

G brown,fine a little + yes metal magnesium

powder malleable
 Judy Hoang
10/17/14
Chemistry
Lab Report
Chem Lab 6

Element A is brittle, not reactive, and conducts electricity. Which makes A a metalloid. Element B is not
brittle or malleable, not reactive and does not conduct electricity. Which makes B a nonmetal.Element C
is brittle, not reactive, does not react with electricity.Which makes C a nonmetal. Element D is malleable
not reactive end conducts electricity. Which makes it D a metal or a metalloid. Element E is brittle, not
reactive, and does not conduct electricity. Which makes E a non metal. Element F is not malleable or
 Judy Hoang
10/17/14
Chemistry
Lab Report
Chem Lab 6
brittle, reactive, and conducts electricity. Which makes F a metalloid. Element G is malleable, reactive,
and conducts electricity. Which makes G a metal.

Conclusion:
Possible errors that could have happened during this lab is that the HCL could have been more
than 1.0M. The conductivity apparatus could have not been working or run out of battery.
Measurements could have been done wrong by not looking at the meniscus. The hammer could
have not hit the element hard enough and it could have not been enough to see if its malleable
or brittle.

This lab relates to what is being taught in class because in this lab it looked for chemical and
physical properties of elements. For example in this lab it asked to classify the element. In class
the topic that is being taught is the development of the periodic table, classification of elements,
and periodic trends. The things that were taught in class helped to classify the elements into
their groups.

The hypothesis was: The elements that light up will be metals because metals are good
conductors of electricity. Elements that dont conduct electricity or react with acids are going to
be nonmetals because nonmetals are poor conductors. Elements that have properties of both
metals and nonmetals are metalloids. It was correct because the elements were easily classified
into metals,nonmetals, and metalloids

If the experiment could have been redone to obtain a more accurate and precise data there
should be more allotropes of the elements or the element in its pure state so the classification
could be easier. The bigger samples of the elements would also be better to classify the
element. Maybe a different acid to react with the elements or just different elements to test.
Different equipment that would be incorporated would be bigger test tubes to see the elements
better. Also a better conductivity apparatus that would suit our small sample. The other team
had a mishap during the experiment, the test tube rack broke during the experiment. Next time
during an experiment it would be a good idea to check the equipment before starting more
 Judy Hoang
10/17/14
Chemistry
Lab Report
Chem Lab 6
carefully. Also to remember to ask the teacher what to do if anything spills. Some research that
would be made now that the data have been analyzed would be about how scientist now find
new elements. Also how do they even know its an element?

Analyze and Conclude:

1. Write the word metal beneath the Classification heading in the data table for those elements
samples that display the general characteristics of metals.

See table 1

2. Write the word nonmetal beneath the Classification heading in the data table for those
elements samples that display the general characteristics of nonmetals.

See table 1

3. Write the word metalloid beneath the Classification heading in the data table for those
elements samples that display the general characteristics of metalloid.

See table 1

4. Using the information in your data table and the periodic table, record the identities of
elements observed during the lab in your periodic tables.
 Judy Hoang
10/17/14
Chemistry
Lab Report
Chem Lab 6

5. Describe any trends among the elements you observed in the lab.
The elements that are brittle all have no reactivity. The malleable elements conduct electricity.
Most of the elements are unreactive. The only reactive ones also conduct electricity.

Real World Chemistry:

1. Why did it take so long to discover the first noble gas?

It took so long to discover the noble gas because scientist couldnt really test it for its chemical
or physical property. They couldnt test the noble gases because they couldnt see them or
touch them. They also did have the technology to see the noble gases or test them. Noble
gases are also unreactive so they couldnt have discovered it with reactivity.

2. Research one of the most recently discovered elements. New elements are created in
particle accelerators and tend to be very unstable. Because of this, many of the properties of a
new element cannot be determined. Using periodic groups trends in melting and boiling point,
predict whether the new element you selected is likely to be a solid, liquid, or gas.

Element 117 is Ununseptium. It is a superheavy artificial chemical element. I predict it is a solid because
it has a high boiling point(550 C, 1022 ) and melting point (572932 F). Also because it is the second
heaviest element made so far.