Gravimetric Analysis Essay

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Gravimetric analysis is used to determine the amount of a substance or element through its mass. To find the amount of sulfate in an unknown sample, gravimetric analysis is introduced and applied to a precipitate of BaSO4 produced from a chemical reaction involving the unknown sample and barium. However, the results of this experiment differed from the true value of sulfate in the unknown sample. While the true value is around 42% of sulfate, experiment shows that there was 43-47% of sulfate instead which may be due to the coprecipitation of other salts. Introduction Sulfates are commonly used in a variety of industries and in products that the average person utilizes daily, such as shampoo or clothing. While sulfates aren’t necessarily harmful, This error in the data may be from the coprecipitation of other salts that were in the unknown sample in addition to human error. The standard deviation of the experiment’s data is also very high. The fact that each of the three trials produced different results could be from additional weight from any filter paper that did not fully combust. However, with that thought in mind, the data shows that it is possible to use gravimetric analysis to figure out how much sulfate was in the original composition. This method, when done correctly, is useful to industries who use sulfates in order to keep the concentration of the sulfate low. While the data is not completely accurate because of error, it is possible to duplicate this experiment. With more time and finer equipment, the experiment will be able to run more smoothly and precise. Along with an adjustment to the experiment to prevent the coprecipitation of any other salts that were included in the unknown sample, this experiment will be able to produce more accurate results about the percentage of sulfate. The results produced from experiments involving gravimetric analysis are useful in not only determining how much sulfate is in a sample, but also in determining the amount of any other chemical in a certain

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