Today I was involved in three experiments, firstly was finishing off the Biodiesel lab.
After previously completing the process of adding the KOH, sunflower oil and methanol into a cylinder and then stirring it with the stir plate my group now had to separate it. This process involved pouring the substance into a separating funnel and then removing the excess Glycerol from the Biodiesiel into a Juicy Water bottle. After leaving the substances in the funnel for 10 minutes, the density of the Glycerol and Biodiesiel had caused them to separate into different mixtures. Hence we were able to separate them with ease. Then, upon weighing the bottle and cap with and without the fuel, it was possible to calculate the percentage yield. Since our theoretical yield had been 111.52g (0.127*3=0.381 moles*292=111.252g) and the actual value had been 105.03g (136.88g-31.85g=105.03) we had a percentage value of 94.41%, not too shabby.
The second experiment involved the pressure-volume experiment, which consisted of observing Boyle's law. The procedure was attaching a plastic gasyringe to a pressure sensor and then observing varying volumes of gas in the syringe and how the pressure corresponded on a LoggerPro program. After experimenting with 5, 10, 15, and 20 ml of air, a pattern occurred that the smaller the volume in ml, the higher the pressure in kPa.
Finally, my last experiment involved the observing of the relationship between pressure and temperature. The procedure meant plugging a 125ml Erlenmeyer flask with a Vernier Gas Pressure Sensor and putting in varying degrees of baths to see the effects. The baths temperature in Celsius varied from a nearly boiling bath, to a warm water bath, to a room temperature bath, and an ice water bath. Although I am yet to finish the experiment, it is likely that the hotter the bath, the higher the pressure in kPa. However, this will be confirmed tomorrow to make sure that this hypothesis.
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