Determining the Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide Experimentally

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Aim

The aim of this experiment is to determine the empirical formula of magnesium oxide by

conducting an experiment in the laboratory. The empirical formula will be determined by

conducting the combustion of magnesium with heat. Necessary calculations will be performed

through the experiment.

Introduction & Background Information of the Experiment

rd
Magnesium is an alkali earth metal. It is in the 3 period, 2A group of the periodic table. It

2 2 6 2
has the electron configuration 1s 2s 2p 3s . Oxygen is a non-metal and it is also

rd
present in the 3 period of the periodic

table. It is in 6A group and has the electron

Figure 1: Magnesium. Taken from:

2 2 4
configuration 1s 2s 2p . Magnesium has the relative atomic mass of 24.31

amu, and oxygen has a relative atomic mass of 16.00 amu.

When the metal magnesium (Mg) is heated with air, it starts to react with the oxygen which is

present in the air. The product of this reaction is magnesium oxide. In order to be able to

calculate the empirical formula of the compound magnesium oxide, the initial amount of

magnesium (Mg) and the amount of final product is required to be measured. The mass of

oxygen (O) which reacts with magnesium (Mg) can be calculated. Thus the empirical formula

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of the compound can be determined by using the mole numbers of each reactant. The ‘law of

conservation of mass’ (see Appendix A) the main principle that enables this process to give

accurate results.

Research Question

What is the empirical formula of magnesium oxide?

Hypothesis

If all of the magnesium used in the experiment reacts with oxygen the empirical formula will

be MgO.

Variables

Dependent Variable: Amount of magnesium oxide formed after the reaction. (In grams)

Independent Variable: Amount of oxygen. (In moles)

Controlled Variable: Amount of magnesium. (In grams)

Materials

1- Crucible

2- Lid

3- Pipe-clay triangle

4- Bunsen burner

Figure 2: The experiment set-up. Taken from:

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Procedure

1- Mass of the empty crucible is measured and written down.

2- The magnesium ribbon is placed in the crucible.

3- Mass of the crucible, magnesium and lid is measured and written down.

4- The crucible is placed on the pipe-clay triangle.

5- The crucible is heated for 10 minutes.

6- The Bunsen burner is turned off, and the crucible is left to cool for a few minutes.

7- The mass of the crucible after the reaction is measure and written.

Results

Mass ( ±0.01)
Crucible+lid 34.18
Crucible+lid+magnesium 35.24
Crucible+lid+product of the reaction 35.31
Table 1: The results obtained from the experiment.

1- Calculating the Mass of Magnesium

The mass of magnesium (Mg) can be calculated by subtracting the mass of crucible and lid

from the mass of the crucible, lid and magnesium (Mg).

35.24-34.18=1.06 g

The uncertainty of the mass of magnesium (Mg) can be determined by adding the

uncertainties of the two values.

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0.01+0.01=0.02

Mass of magnesium (Mg) =1.06 ±0. 02 g

2- Calculating the Mass of Oxygen

The mass of oxygen can be determined by subtracting the mass of crucible, lid and

magnesium (Mg) from the mass of the crucible, lid and the product of the reaction.

35.31-35.24=0.07 g

0.01+0.01=0.02

Mass of oxygen (O) = 0.07 ±0. 02 g

Therefore it can be concluded that in the experiment 0.07 ±0. 02 g of oxygen (O) reacted

with 1.06 ±0. 02 g of magnesium (Mg).

3- Calculating the Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide

When calculating the empirical formula of a compound the mole numbers of the reactants and

the products should be determined as the first step. While performing this process the

m
equation “n= mw ” is used. In the equation n represents the mole number while m represents

mass and mw represents molecular weight.

Molecular weight of the reactants

Mg = 24.31 amu.

O = 16.00 amu.

*(These values are taken from the fourth edition of the IB Chemistry Data Booklet)

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3a) Calculating the Number of Moles of Magnesium (Mg)

m
n=
mw

1 . 06
n=
24 .31

n≈0 .0436 moles of magnesium (Mg)

3b) Calculating the Number of Moles of Oxygen (O)

m
n=
mw

0 . 07
n=
16. 00

n≈0 .0043 moles of oxygen (O)

3c) Calculating the Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide

The empirical formula of the compound magnesium oxide can be calculated by dividing both

of the mole numbers calculated above by the mole number of the least value. In this case,

since the mole number of magnesium is 0.0436 and the mole number of oxygen is 0.0043,

both of the mole numbers will be divided by the mole number of oxygen. The calculations are

performed below.

The Coefficient of Magnesium

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 0. 0436
≈10
0. 0043

The Coefficient of Oxygen

0. 0043
=1
0. 0043

Therefore the empirical formula of magnesium oxide in this experiment is: Mg 10 O.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, it is obvious that the experiment included various errors. The empirical

formula of magnesium oxide should have been found as MgO since the charges of these two

reactants are 2+ and 2- and they cancel each other. The failure this experiment has led our

group to has variety of causes which will later be discussed in the evaluation section.

The empirical formula found as a result of this experiment means that there are 10 magnesium

ions for each oxygen ion. And the ratio between them is 10:1.

Even though the uncertainty of the digital balance used in the experiment (50%) is taken into

consideration the real empirical formula of the compound is still not in the range of the results

of this experiment.

Evaluations

The experiment was unsuccessful for a variety of reasons but one of the most important ones

is the fact that not all the magnesium initially placed in the crucible reacted with oxygen.

Therefore there was a miscalculation of the product. This was because of the fact that oxygen

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was the limiting reactant in this experiment. Another thing that would need to be changed

when the experiment is repeated is the digital balance which was used for the measurements.

The digital balance which was used in this experiment showed only three digits after the

decimal point, thus errors in the calculations occurred and the balance had an uncertainty of

50%.

Appendix A

The Law of Conservation of Mass

The law of conservation of mass was result of the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier. He

found out that the mass is always conserved in a chemical reaction. The total mass of the

reactants in a chemical reaction has to be equal to the total mass of the products of the same

chemical reaction. With the help of this law we can perform stoichiometric calculations.

Works Cited

1- Owen, Steve. Chemistry for the IB Diploma Second Edition. Cambridge Universty

Press, 2016. Print.

2- “Law of Conservation of Matter.” Lavoisier,

chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/history/lavoisier.html.